


Getaway

by XScribe



Series: Off The Map [8]
Category: Fast and the Furious Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Bi-Gender, Mia Toretto/Brian O'Conner UST, Mpreg, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rough Sex, referenced rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 00:37:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 42,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8600239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XScribe/pseuds/XScribe
Summary: The wedding.





	

Wednesday—September 20

Though it required a little searching in the garment district of LA, it took only one morning to find an ideal tuxedo. Not far from the landmark hotel where Dom and Brian were staying, there were plenty of clothing stores within blocks of each other. The tuxes they chose had to be worthy of an event that was about to mark a turning point in their lives. 

What they decided on for Dom’s tux was silver steel gray in color for an afternoon wedding, with a long cutaway style jacket. The asymmetric-buttoned vest had a shawl collar. The vest was ivory jacquard satin with a matching cravat tie and pocket square. The buttons and cufflinks were Swarovski crystal.

The shop had a maternity version as well. The jacket was just cut fuller and equipped with darts to allow for a bust. The button closed up at the top of the abdomen, rather than directly over the center. This wasn’t too much of an issue in Brian’s case yet. The maternity version wasn’t usually sold with a vest, but because he could still fit the next size up, he could wear one with his ensemble. Or, the clerk suggested an ivory maternity shirt. They offered to replace the buttons with Swarovski crystal buttons if Brian chose not to wear a cravat or tie. The shoes for both bride and groom were black patent leather with contrasting grosgrain fabric.

The day before, they’d purchased the rings. They were yellow gold, contemporary-styled bands with princess cut clear diamonds set in a circumferential channel. This was their second day of shopping in the garment district spent chasing down all the things they’d need to prepare, as well as finding a new vehicle. In the evenings, Brian would go to the Toretto house and help Jesse and Mia pack, as much as he could. But the previous day as they shopped for their wedding ensembles, Dom had said something that Brian hadn’t forgotten, although it wasn’t mentioned again.

He’d said he’d love to see Brian in a wedding gown.

Not taking it seriously, he’d laughed it off at the time. He’d thought it merely an off-hand remark. But after their earlier discussion in Barstow about Brian’s wardrobe, he began to realize that Dom might very well have been serious. So while Dom was being chalked up for his tux, Brian resisted going to the dressing room with the matching maternity version. Instead, he suddenly said, “You know what? I think we ought a look at some gowns.”

Shocked, Dom’s mouth fell open, long-lashed eyes cutting to his partner. He must have been pretty stunned because it took him a moment to respond and when he did, he stuttered. “A-are you sure?” One thing Dom didn’t do was stutter.

“Yeah, I think so.” Brian handed the garments back to the clerk. “You said that’s what you wanned, so let’s do it.”

The clerk was either a little dubious or she was holding out hope for the extra commission. “I’ll go ahead and hold onto your choices until your fiancé comes to pick up his tuxedo after the alterations are complete in case you change your mind.”

Had Brian known the trouble he was setting himself up for, he might have forsaken the plan. Maybe that was what the clerk was really warning him about. Even so, she and the other clerks did recommend the better bridal shops in the district.

The rest of the day until closing time turned out to be a trial. Brian had no idea there were so many different choices of dresses. He thought it would be easy enough to go to the first store and find something suitable in minutes. But it proved even harder than finding the right tux. Though Dom didn’t see Brian in any of the gowns to ward off bad luck, his fiancé changed his mind about all of them. And frankly after the immense trouble of trying on the first three elaborate dresses, Brian was overheated, cranky, and tired. It was midafternoon, right around the time he usually crashed. The baby seemed to share Brian’s feelings.

Time and money were wasted driving to parking garages to reach the shops that were recommended. Walking, however, was even more tiring Brian discovered. He was used to doing a hell of a lot more activity with hardly any fatigue, just months ago. Even though it didn’t seem to be doing him any good, it was while they were on foot that they discovered a lingerie store so stunning, they suspended the search for a gown to gawk in the storefront window for several minutes.

With one look at each other, they set their resolve and entered. They had to.

Inside, it was like no store Brian had ever dared entertain shopping. He felt like he’d crossed the threshold into a forbidden city. A place patronized only by seasoned adults with considerably more experience than he. Specializing in the kinds of merchandise he only had a faint idea existed. Amid the exotic variety of underwear, he somehow remembered that he had no maternity bras and managing without them was only going to get more painful as time went on, if he recalled puberty with any accuracy. He had only a few negligees and a couple of sexy bras, but nothing like this store carried, and nothing maternity.

But how could he think of maternity wear among PVC, leather, studs, patent leather, chain hardware, Lycra, lace, and so much more? From fetish head wear to stiletto-heeled pumps?

Sounding awe-struck, Dom faintly asked, “Don’t you need some robes and bras…?”

“…Think maybe we ought a buy some…thing…” Equally in surprise, Brian swallowed as he looked around the store, ignoring his own fatigue and the baby’s fussing. “Something say…for the honeymoon…?”

~~~

By the time they left the lingerie store, only minutes from closing, after passing through a spectrum of stages of arousal, Dom was starving. Definitely starving to try out their new treasure trove of toys, as well as hungry for real food beforehand or perhaps even during. Once they’d left the hotel following breakfast, they hadn’t really had an actual meal. All they’d managed was a quick bite at a crappy little sidewalk stand, a snack that while delicious for the parents, couldn’t have been particularly satisfying for the baby. However, Brian seemed okay with it, and they resumed shopping immediately afterward, so it was soon forgotten. This meant O'Conner and the baby had to be famished, a factor Dom hadn’t thought to consider. Being a father was still so new and strange to him he couldn't help his negligence. It did, however, prompt him to believe he didn’t deserve fatherhood yet. 

It was a well-known fact that the fashion district wasn’t known for its cuisine, thereby forcing them to have to stray outside the area to find a decent restaurant that wasn’t overpriced or closed. All the shops in the area closed by 6:00 pm and some of the restaurants even earlier.

“Pizza,” Brian replied, helping tuck the packages to fit into the trunk space so nothing was crushed when the lid was shut. “I want pizza.”

“Pizza,” Dom reflected, trying to think of any pizzerias he knew nearby. That sounded inviting. There was a good New York-styled one in fact, but they’d closed hours ago. There was another one he’d only heard of but never tried.

“With jalapeños,” Brian was going on, “avocado, and eggplant. Oh, and it’s gotta have onion.”

“What?” Dom hadn’t known O'Conner to have such peculiar taste when it came to food. He didn’t even like bread crust. Then as he considered the unusual requests for milk and spicy food Brian had been making lately, Toretto couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps those old wives’ tales about pregnancy cravings were true.

“Yeah. Isn't there a place on the way back to the hotel?” Throwing his purse to his back, Brian started for the passenger side door now that the trunk was packed. “Johnny’s or something?”

“Closed.” Dom came around with him to unlock the door and hold it open it for his fiancé. “I’ll find us some place, though. You want pizza, then pizza you and the baby shall have.”

“I'm hungry as fuck.” Brian got in the car, tucking a hand over his cotton shirt, under his abdomen. “Probably should have brought something to eat, you know? Like crackers or pretzels. The baby’s been kicking the holy crap out a me for some time. Except I think he’s passed out, 'cos he’s still now.” He shut his door right out of Dom’s hand.

Alarmed, Dom rushed around to the driver’s side and scrambled to get in. Once inside, he instantly reached to Brian and placed a hand on his belly. “What do you mean? He stopped moving? For how long? Is he all right?”

“I don't know.” Brian pulled on his seatbelt, unconcerned. “I got all distracted in that store and stopped paying attention. When he’s hungry, he makes sure I know, but he gave up a while back. Which is good, 'cos it gets pretty damn annoying when he keeps kicking the crap out a me. I don’t even want to imagine what it’ll be like when he’s bigger. So let’s hurry up and find some place to eat. Just make sure it’s pizza, 'cos I'm like dyin’ for it. And not that shitty place at the hotel.”

“Wait, I just thought of a place.”

~~~

In less than an hour, the Chevelle was locked up relatively safely in a parking garage once again and they were in the pizzeria, taking turns waiting in line. Considering how close it was to shopping as well as their hotel, it still took them a while to reach that point. Dom made it back to the line just as Brian had reached the counter to order. Uncharacteristically, he almost immediately began arguing with the clerk about the pizza toppings he wanted. As they didn’t offer eggplant as a topping, he’d seen that one of the signature pizzas came with artichoke. Only he didn’t want their spinach and artichoke pizza, he wanted his own combination of toppings of onions, jalapeños and now ricotta cheese. It sounded a little strange to Toretto, and they’d have to pay extra for the toppings, but he was quick to agree, explaining Brian’s testy attitude to the clerk with “Sorry, but my fiancé’s pregnant.”

Which resulted in a positive, understanding response from the staff of the restaurant, but O'Conner was only further miffed. “It’s none a their damn business,” he told Dom when steered away from the counter to find a table. “I know you’re excited about it, but not only is it none of their business, but what makes you think they give a shit?”

“Look, baby,” Dom led his fiancé to the back of the restaurant where he saw a few empty tables, “I get that you haven’t eaten and you and the baby are hungry, but they don’t know.”

“They don’t need to.”

“Actually, it might help to expedite our pizza, you know? They probably don’t want our baby to starve. People are usually surprisingly caring when it comes to expectant moms.” He helped Brian take a seat at the table first.

“Anyway, you know what I'm thinking?” Brian set his purse on the table. “Besides the fact that I'm dying of thirst?”

“I’ll go get us our water.” Dom picked up the cups they’d been supplied. 

“No, wait a second. I'm thinking that when I go to Echo Park this evening, I should give Jesse and Mia some money to buy themselves some clothes, don’t you think?”

That was a damn good point. One Dom had failed to consider. “But you can't go there tonight. You’re too tired to do any packing.” He took the tumblers to fill them with water and ice. When he returned with straws, as well, O'Conner didn’t wait; he grabbed his plastic tumbler to gulp down more than half his ice water. Poor kid, Dom thought. He looked tired, too.

“I just gotta eat,” Brian said, as if their conversation hadn’t been interrupted, “then I’ll be fine.”

“I think you’re right.” Dom took his seat again, and went ahead and dropped straws into both of their tumblers when he could. “I think we should give Jesse and Mia some money to buy some clothes so they can get all fixed up for the wedding. Here, Jesse’s gonna be my best man, and I didn’t even think of it. And Mia’s gonna be the Maid of Honor. You know what? She should come with us tomorrow so she can get a gown to compliment yours.”

For a moment, Brian stopped drinking long enough to take the straw. After downing most of the rest of his water, he finally spoke again. “Think she’ll wanna be my Maid of Honor? Isn't that some kind of big deal?”

Dom shrugged. “So, isn't that all the more reason for her to come to get a gown to match yours? How much do you think we should give them? I mean, I should pay half; this is my wedding, too.”

“I don't know. Does Jesse got anything decent to wear, or should we buy him a tux, too? And considering how much yours cost, we should probably give him at least a thousand dollars to get something nice, you know? We can’t have him show up looking like a homeless guy. And Mia, I guess we should give her that much, too. She’ll wanna get her hair and nails done, too, or something.”

“I didn’t even think of that.”

“You can't live around my mom and not learn junk like that. She did a lot of that stuff herself, but she still went and got her hair cut and professional jobs done when it was a special enough occasion. Took me a few times, too, but I put an end to that real fast. Your hair you’ve got to have cut by professionals, but I draw the line there.”

Amused, Dom chuckled. “You mean you’re not gonna go with Mia to get your nails done, too?”

“Hell no!” Then Brian reconsidered. He regarded his fingernails. “Do you want me to? You think I need to?”

“No. Your hands are beautiful.” Dom lifted Brian’s hand and kissed his nails. “No need to mess with perfection. All right, I’ll give you some money to take to them, but not tonight. You’re too toasted for that. I’ll call them and tell them you’re not gonna be there, and for Mia to prepare to come shopping with us tomorrow. Jesse, too. I’m not sure I’d trust him to get himself a nice enough tux. I'm not sure he’d know one if it walked up and goosed him. Probably wanna spend the money on getting himself some video games first.” He reached to one of his cargo pockets for the latest cell phones he’d acquired.

“Don’t tell them I'm not going over there tonight,” Brian countered. “I’ll try and make it over there. There’s still a lot of stuff to get out of the house. Tomorrow may be worse, since I didn’t find a dress today and we’ll have to start all over again after we go see about that truck, remember?”

“Truck?” Dom had just dialed his house and was waiting for connection. “Oh, shit, that’s right.” At the lingerie shop, the owner of a ’93 Ramcharger Magnum they’d looked at had called and agreed to reduce his asking price. Except that it was missing the hood ornament, which was a common problem for that year, some dents, and a badly stained carpet in the rear, the engine and transmission were still good. The engine had a few miles, but that wasn’t an issue with Magnums; they could easily keep it running another several hundred thousand miles.

Their dinner arrived before Dom could complete the call. He snapped his cell shut, deciding to tackle the problem after he’d downed some of his meal. That included some of his draft beer. “I’ll call Mia back. She’s probably busy.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Brian said, attacking his milk. He began collecting every bit of spilled jalapeño he could find to pile on his pizza slice. Though he hadn’t been able to order one of the microbrew beers the restaurant specialized in, he wasn’t remotely daunted by this, seeming far more interested in chugging down his milk. 

“About what?” Dom was mildly mystified.

“About asking her to come with us tomorrow to get a gown to match mine.”

“Why not?”

“I don't know. I just don’t know if she’ll want to.”

“Of course she will. She’s gonna be your sister-in-law; of course she will.”

“I don’t know, that’s all.” Apparently not satisfied with the amount of chiles on his pizza, he started stealing them from the remaining pie to add to his slice. His milk mustache was endearing. Dom couldn’t help but chuckle again. “You don’t believe me? Try asking her right now. See what she says.”

“It’s not that; I was thinking how cute you look. But I’ll call her.” Dom wiped his hand on his napkin and produced his phone from his pocket again. “She’ll jump at the chance to go get herself all dolled up, you watch.”

While Dom waited for his call to be answered, Brian signaled one of the waitresses.

Mia answered. “Yeah?”

“Mia,” Dom said. “How would you like a thousand bucks to spend on a whole outfit and a makeover and all that?”

Her voice was incredulous. “Wh-a-at?”

“Just what I said. We want you and Jesse to get done up for the wedding, so we’re gonna spring for it.”

“A thou--? Are you crazy? You’ve really lost your mind, haven’t you?”

In fact, Dom kind of felt like he had. Whenever he looked at his fiancé and thought of their impending marriage and family, he felt as if everything was off kilter and distorted, but in a great way.

The waitress arrived just as Brian started to get up. “Could you bring me another milk?” He reached for his purse. “And some extra jalapeños?”

“Don’t get up,” she responded brightly. “You stay right there. I’ll have the total for you when I bring it to your table.”

“No,” Dom continued to Mia, still bemused by his fiancé, who took his seat again. “I’m serious. You’re coming with us tomorrow to get yourself the works, so you and Jesse plan on that. He’s gotta get his tuxedo to be my best man, you know.”

“You can take Jesse to go get something to wear—he can meet you or whatever--but you can leave me out of it.”

Surprised, Dom looked to his astute fiancé who was single-mindedly scarfing down his second slice of pizza. Apparently he’d forgotten about the phone call Dom was engaged in.

“What do you mean?” Dom found he might have to handle the unexpected problem on his own. “Leave you out of it? What’re you talking about? Don’t worry about the money. Let us deal--”

“This has nothing to do with money.”

“Then what’s it got to do with?”

“Nothing. Just forget about it. I think I should probably stay here and get the last things sorted out. Make sure Rico and Blanca are going to be here to take over the market and watch the house. I told you before we need more time to prepare to move out. Especially 'cos you can't come here and help me.”

Guiltily, Toretto looked to Brian just as the waitress returned with the extra things he’d ordered. “It’ll be just for a few hours tomorrow. And it won't be first thing. We’ve got something to do in the morning, then we’ll call you.”

“No charge,” the waitress waived off the cash Brian held out to her. “My sister was the same when she was pregnant. Only with her it was onions and anchovies.”

“I don’t mean tomorrow,” Mia was saying. “I’m talking about the wedding.”

“What!” Dom was taken aback. “Now you’re talking crazy. Just be ready tomorrow.” He snapped the phone shut. Rattled, he looked down at his place setting anew. His pizza was cooling off, he was reminded. He picked up his beer instead.

“What’d she say?” Brian asked. “She’s doesn’t want to be Maid of Honor, does she?”

“Good thing I didn’t ask. She doesn’t want to come to the wedding. She would a bit my head off if I’d a asked her about being the Maid of Honor.”

In answer, Brian groaned while he went on eating.

“How did you know she was gonna say that?” Dom started on his pizza again.

“I’ll talk to her tonight when I go over there. I’ll try and talk her into attending the wedding. If I do that, then she’ll come buy her gown. Only I can’t promise she’ll be the Maid of Honor.”

“She’s the only Maid of Honor we got. Unless I ask my cousin, Blanca. And she doesn’t even know you. How can she be your—Why the fuck doesn’t Mia wanna be the Maid of Honor? Like I said, I thought it was a big deal to be the Maid of Honor. Why would she turn down the chance?”

“It’d be like me asking Rome to be my Best Man.”

“No it’s not.” Dom was surprised Brian would make the suggestion. “There’s no comparison. Mia’s mi familia. She’s not gonna miss my wedding. Pearce isn't related to you. He wouldn’t give a damn about missing your wedding.”

After adding extra jalapeños to a third slice of pizza, Brian took a bite. “Just let me talk to her tonight.”

~~~

On the drive back to the hotel, Brian could barely keep his eyes open. But a shower helped rejuvenate him enough to put on one of his newly-purchased bras, his last pair of clean pants, and his mechanic’s shirt from Tej’s garage. He took the laundry with him over to the Toretto house so they’d have a clean wardrobe when they left the country. Despite his fatigue, Brian would have to juggle laundry and packing. Then aside from the hundred dollars he had in his purse for an emergency, he added the two thousand dollars from his stash promised to Mia and Jesse, assuring Dom he considered their money pooled now that they were engaged. Then he made the drive to Echo Park.

The house was rapidly growing emptier with every passing day. Essential furniture remained, but not much else. Much had been put in storage or given away to relatives or charity. All shelves, cabinets, and cupboards were growing increasingly empty. As always, Jesse welcomed him into the house and not Mia who was understandably tense about the situation. In fact, Jesse assisted on bringing the laundry in from the Chevelle, then started to help sort it. The way he combed through Brian’s things was a little uncomfortable, so Brian did as much of that himself as he could, quickly filling the washer and dropping the lid shut. Then they started up to the master bedroom to finish emptying the walk-in closet.

In the dining room, Mia was carefully wrapping the last of the things from the china cabinet and placing them in nearly full boxes.

“Listen,” Brian said, entering the room with his purse and set it on the heavy dining table that would stay behind. “I’ve got the money for both of you to start some shopping tomorrow.” He unzipped his bag.

“What shopping?” Jesse asked. Evidently Mia had not informed him about the venture planned for the next day.

“You and Mia are gonna meet us in the garment district tomorrow to get your wedding ensembles. Dominic got his tuxedo and some stuff today. We were down there 'til they closed. We gotta go back again tomorrow, 'cos I didn’t get my outfit yet.”

“Aren't you wearing the same tux as him?” Jesse went on. “So you’ll match?”

“Well, that’s what I thought,” Brian admitted with a sigh. “Only Dom said he’d really like me in a gown. I thought about it and, well, I don’t wanna disappoint him. If that’s what he wants, then that’s what I'm gonna wear.”

For some reason, that excited Jesse. “You’re wearing a gown? Awesome! You’re gonna be gorgeous in a gown.”

Embarrassed, Brian lowered his head. “It’s just 'cos Dominic wants it. Or it wouldn’t matter to me.”

Mia finally spoke up. “Is that why my brother wants me to go buy a gown, too? To match yours, I suppose?”

“Well, yeah,” Brian allowed. “But you can wear whatever you want. I’m gonna give you some money to both get something nice. Dom trusts your taste, Mia, but he wants Jesse to come with us so we can get him a real tux. Something that would work with Dom’s.”

“What’s his like?” Jesse started to take the full box off the table for Mia and Brian rushed to help.

“Oh, he looks hot in it,” Brian assured them. “It’s gray, 'cos it’s a daytime wedding. It’s got a cutaway style jacket with peak lapels. Since it’s gonna be on the beach, they tried to talk us into adding some color. But he said no, he wants to go traditional. Since we don’t have time to do a Catholic wedding, I get it. That’s cool by me. So he’s gonna be wearing an ivory vest with a cravat tie made of the same material. The buttons are Swarovski crystal. It’s totally dope. Wait’ll you see it.”

“Crystal?” Jesse looked to Mia, impressed. “Wow. Sounds killer. So I gotta wear a gray tux, too? What about your dress? What’s it look like?”

Brian shrugged. “We haven’t picked one yet. I was willing to go with something simple, but Dom didn’t want that.”

“Like what’s he want?” Jesse persisted while Brian counted out a thousand to give to Mia. “Are you gonna wear a color? Since it is on the beach?”

“No colors,” Brian reiterated. “We want a ceremony as close to Catholic tradition as we can have, so I’m wearing ivory, too. Like Dom. We’re expecting, so we can only wear ivory.”

“Oh, okay,” Jesse nodded. “What about us? What colors should we wear?”

“You gotta wear gray, too,” Brian said. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you something dope, too. You’ll look great.” He handed Mia the thousand dollars, though she only looked at it, but didn’t move. “Dom wants Mia to be the Maid of Honor, but it doesn’t matter to me. You don’t gotta do that,” he quickly added, seeing the offended look on Mia’s face. “You can wear anything you want,” he told her, “any color you want, as long as you wear a formal.”

“I don’t want,” she said, turning back to the cabinet to dust the empty shelf. “I already told him I'm not coming.”

Giving Jesse his share of money, Brian tried, “Why don’t you get another box for the closet upstairs? I’ll be right up.”

But Jesse was just as startled by Mia’s response. He ignored the instruction. “What do you mean you’re not coming?” he asked Mia. “Of course you are, man. Look at all this money. Don’t you wanna splurge? Man, he’s handing you a thousand bucks.”

“No,” she said dryly, her back still towards them. “I honestly have no interest in going. So just leave me out of your plans. I’ll finish getting everything taken care of here.”

“I’ll be right up,” Brian tried to Jesse again. “Gimme a minute.”

“But that’s insane,” Jesse remarked. “Man, this is your brother’s wedding. That’s like rude, man. If it was my brother getting married I’d damn well go.”

“That’s your business,” she said dismissively.

Brian gestured to Jesse to leave them alone. He finally caught on. Tucking the money roll in his breast pocket, he headed towards the front of the house.

“Come on, Mia,” Brian said, folding down the flaps of the other full box she’d finished packing. “You gotta come. It means a lot to your brother.”

“I don’t give a damn.” She kept dusting.

“And it would mean a lot to me, too.”

“Nothing I do could possibly mean a lot to you.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong. Everything about you means a lot to me. You’re gonna be my sister-in-law. Mi familia, as Dominic says. The only sister I’ll ever have. That means a hell of a lot to me.” He thought a little harder. “Hell, you’ve always meant a lot to me.”

“Bullshit. Dom is the one who means a lot to you. Just go the fuck and marry him and see if I give a shit.” Taking the dust rag, she stamped out of the room to the rear hall.

It was easy to imagine how difficult leaving her parents’ house and her home must be. She didn’t have the all-encompassing reason to go like Brian had. Maybe it was a mistake to take her along. As soon as he had the box taped up, he followed Mia. She was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. “At least take the money.” Brian came to her. “Take the money and buy yourself something nice.”

“You think money’s going to make me feel better?” she spat.

“Do you really not want to leave the country with us? Maybe you shouldn’t if you really feel it’s the wrong thing to do.”

“It’s not that, either. I just don’t want to go to the wedding, all right? Is that so hard to figure out? I hate weddings. I don’t give a fuck for weddings.”

There wasn’t any blaming her for that. Brian didn’t like attending weddings, either. Not that he’d hardly had to. The very few he’d attended had told him enough. “Neither do I much. But this is kind a different. Dom would be heartbroken if you weren't there.”

“I don’t care. If you knew half the crap he’s put me through all my life…Look, I just don’t want to go.”

“Would it make any difference if I told you I think you deserve to get yourself something new to wear?”

She hesitated. “Why? Just to go to your wedding?” She glanced towards him.

“No, because you deserve it. Sure, I’d like you at the wedding, but if you don’t want to go, I’m cool. I still think you deserve to do something for yourself. I don’t really want to drag you out of here, away from med school and your folks’ house and everything. I know I should have a doctor, but it’s not like I'm hoping to have to see one. Chances are, I’ll probably manage without one. When the time comes for me to deliver I expect to come back to Barstow, you know? So even if you decide not to go with us, I’d still like you to take the money.” He drew it out of his own breast pocket and held it out to her. “Even if you don’t come to the wedding or out of the country with us.”

When she saw him reach for the money, he could tell she watched him out of the corner of her eye. “Now you’re telling me I don’t have to come with you? Just now? After I’ve ripped this whole house apart to get it ready for us to go? And arranged everything with our cousins to stay here and run the market until whenever?”

“I don't know, Mia, you’re making me have second thoughts…”

“Second thoughts?” She stopped washing leftover containers. “Second thoughts about going? 'Cos you could stay here, Brian. We could stay here. I could stay in school and you could take over the garage. You said that’s what you wanted to do. We could sell the market instead, if you don’t want to deal with it. We’d figure something out.” Tossing the containers into the empty side of the sink for rinsing, she snapped off her rubber gloves and draped them over the lip of the tile. “You said you were high-risk. It would be a mistake for you to be on the run chasing from one country to another. Here in LA you can go see your OB regularly, only a couple of hours away in Barstow. This is where you need to stay.”

The resistant, determined expression in her eyes only moments ago had been replaced with a bright, excited passion. All he could do was blink at her in disbelief. “There’s no way I'm letting Dom out of my sight again.”

“He doesn’t need any looking after, believe me,” she chided. “He’s more than capable of taking care of himself.”

“Then why was he so miserable and fucked up when he got here?” Brian defended. “The last thing he was doing was taking care of himself.”

“I’m sure you’re reading a lot more into it than was there. I wouldn’t worry about my brother.”

“I am worried about him,” Brian nearly snapped. “There’s no way I’m letting him go anywhere without me. I could never stand to be without him again.” Though he didn’t tell her, the thought of continuing without Toretto scared him.

The ember of enthusiasm in her eyes quickly faded. She whipped back to the sink and fumbled in her haste to pull the gloves on. “Then go ahead and go. Just leave me out of any stupid wedding.”

He lay the money on the counter opposite the dishrack. “You are coming with us across the border aren't you?”

“I don't know.” Her voice was heated. “Maybe not. Shit, I'm gonna have to go back to the storage unit and get some things out again…”

“I kind a do need you to come, or I wouldn’t have asked. But I also don’t want you to feel obligated if you don’t want to. Take the money, anyway.” He couldn’t help it; he felt like crap when he withdrew to help Jesse.

~~~

On his return to the hotel, he gave the keys over to the valet, much as he knew Dom didn’t like anyone else driving his car. But the thought of making the long trek back to the hotel was more than Brian could stand. He’d a had a hell of a time staying awake on the drive back to the hotel and felt about ready to collapse.

Before he could even fumble with the card in the door, it came open in his hold. Of the two new robes he’d bought that day, Dom was wearing the red and black silk one. He drew Brian into the room.

“Baby, you look dead on your feet,” Dom observed.

“I just wanna go to bed,” Brian slurred in Dom's arms where he’d been snatched in embrace. A moment later, he was swept up off the carpet and carried to bed. He wasn’t about to complain.

“Are they coming with us tomorrow?” Dom asked, as he began undressing Brian.

“Yeah,” Brian managed, then remembered better. “Well, Jesse is, anyway. Mia’s not coming to the wedding. I don’t even know if she’s leaving the country with us now.”

“What?” Dom’s hands froze having just unbuttoned Brian’s shirt. “What do you mean she’s not coming? You were supposed to go talk her into coming with us to buy a gown to match yours. What did you do?”

“I-I don't know,” Brian shrugged, sort of wondering himself how Mia’s attendance had gotten so screwed up.

While Dom finished undressing Brian, he settled on the bed to fall asleep, as he was so want to do. He suddenly started awake at the sound of Dom’s agitated growl. Brian opened his eyes to find himself in his underwear and Dom on the phone.

“What the fuck’s going on?” Dom was demanding. “Brian says you’re not coming to the wedding…What do you mean? How could you not come to my wedding?...What?...Since when? I don’t remember you ever missing a wedding before, and now you want to miss your own brother’s wedding? What is this?...I-I can't believe this. My own sister! No, this isn’t how it’s gonna go. You be ready tomorrow. You can meet us downtown. You bring Jesse. I’ll figure out where—what? No!”

It was one conversation Brian didn’t really want to hear. He had to pee, anyway. Wearily, he got off the bed and straggled to the multitude of packages they’d picked up that day at the lingerie store. Being as he’d left their clean laundry in the trunk of the Chevelle, other than the negligees Rome had bought him, he had nothing else to wear to bed, anyway. Quickly, he found a couple of bags with his things inside and took them into the bathroom. Tired as he was he didn’t know if he could imagine having sex that night. Although the shopping trip to the lingerie store had certainly tempted him. They hadn’t had actual intercourse once since Dom’s return and Brian was apprehensive about trying. It might still hurt too much. And what if he couldn’t do Dom either because he got too freaked out to perform? Such a fear made him wonder if he was ready for it yet. They’d begin engaging in other forms of foreplay and sex. All of it had been great and they’d not yet had an unsatisfying experience, but that night Brian was so damn wiped. Still, he could at least provide his fiancé some special gratification and wear one of the many sexy things they’d bought that day.

Just as he slipped into the flutter-hemmed, rose-colored, sheer baby doll gown, Dom entered the bathroom. The frown of consternation creasing his brow instantly vanished when he saw Brian. Quickly, Brian set about fitting the loose lace-covered cups over his breasts. “What’d she say?” he asked.

Dom let out an aroused, throaty growl. He came to Brian, lifted him onto the counter, and buried his face against his sternum. “Mm, you’re beautiful.”

Chuckling in tired amusement, Brian closed his legs around Dom, hugging him close. Then prompted his chin up to share a kiss. The polished stone counter was particularly cold, but he suppressed a hiss.

Once again, Dom carried Brian to the bed and put him down. He tugged the silk robe down before Dom could get under the sheets with him. They kissed passionately, Brian wrapping his legs around Dom, keeping him close. Tiring, Brian lay his head on Dom's muscular shoulder. “Did you change Mia’s mind?”

“What happened?” Dom paused in his kissing to look Brian over. “I thought you went over there to talk her into coming shopping for your gowns tomorrow. Instead, she told me she’s changed her mind about leaving Los Angeles. How did that happen?”

“I don’t know,” Brian admitted. “She just kept getting more and more unglued as I talked to her. After a while I didn’t even want to discuss the matching gown thing with her. I gave her the money and told her to buy whatever she wants. I thought that would make her happy.”

“She mentioned that. But I don’t get why she doesn’t want to come with us. I pointed out to her that it’s not exactly an option; we need her to come with us.”

Brian frowned. “As dead set against it as she is, do you think we should force her? I can just be careful and do everything right, then I won’t need a doctor. At least not until--”

“I was there with you when we talked to Dr. Adams, or did you forget that? He said you absolutely had to be monitored. We’re not jeopardizing my baby’s life.” Dom looked down between them, and tucked the baby close.

There was no other way to consider it; Brian knew his fiancé was right. And Mia was the closest they had to a doctor. He nodded. “How are we going to get her to go?”

“I’m her brother; I’ll force her if I have to.”

“Don’t do that. I think I know a way that’ll make her want to come without forcing her.”

“Then why didn’t you use it already? Convince her to come and get a gown. You know, I don’t even get why she doesn’t want to come with us and help chose your gown. She’d be good at it. She’s been a bride’s maid a few times before with extended family and friends. She seemed to get a kick out of it. That’s why I don’t get why she’s acting so weird now.”

Brian kissed his fiancé’s full lower lip lovingly, distracted. “You know what?” he suddenly remembered. “I left the laundry in the trunk of the Chevelle. The Chevelle is all the way back in the parking garage. You’re gonna have to help me get it in the morning.”

“Don’t worry, baby.” Dom kissed the tip of Brian’s nose. “I’ll take care of the laundry.”

~~~

Thursday—September 21

In the morning although he was sleepy as fuck, Brian dragged himself awake after Dom left to go shower. Hearing the shower taps go on, it sounded as though the bathroom door was ajar. A glance over told Brian it was; in consideration, Dom always tried to make sure his baby’s mom was well compensated for.

Despite that he needed to relieve himself and the baby, Brian crawled over to the phone and dialed the Toretto house. Unfortunately, Jesse answered and precious minutes were lost while Brian waited for the phone to change hands. Sure enough, he could hear Mia arguing it out. While she did this, he got up in his short nightgown to shut the bathroom door down so he wouldn’t be overheard. Over the phone, he could hear that Mia had no interest in taking the phone.

“Look, Jesse,” Brian explained. “Now she’s planning to stay behind when we leave for Baja. And I really need her to come with us. You gotta put her on the phone.”

There was another exchange, this time with the mouthpiece covered. At last Mia came on the line. Her voice was tentatively bitter. “What the hell do you want now? I already gave you an answer yesterday.”

“I'm sorry,” Brian told her immediately, perching on the edge of the bed farthest from the bathroom. “I didn’t mean it as any kind of insult when I gave you the money. I wasn’t trying to buy you off. I’d never do that.” He tugged the short gown beneath himself. The baby must not have appreciated the abrupt awakening and became active.

“Then what do you call it?”

“I gave you the money because I genuinely wanted you to buy yourself something nice. I wanted to see you in something pretty. Because I thought you deserved to get yourself done up, you know? You’re too beautiful and you work too hard not to be pampered sometimes. I wanted to be the one to do that for you.”

“Or is it really because I happen to be the sister of the guy you’re humping and you feel guilty? In fact, I hope you feel like shit about it, but I don’t give a damn for your charity.”

Surprised, Brian blinked. He glanced to the bathroom door. He had to struggle to keep his voice down. “That’s got nothing to do with it,” he confessed half truthfully. “And we’re not even! We haven’t since we’ve been back together,” he added, though he didn’t know why. Perhaps because his feelings for her were still very sincere. “Mia. I haven’t changed my mind about you. I’m still very attracted to you. I-I was gonna ask you out the night of the barbecue at your house. I’d made up my mind and I meant to. It’s not like you were the suspect. I know it was crazy, but I really wanted to.”

For several excruciating moments she was silent. Finally she managed, “Are you fucking with me?”

“No. I swear I'm not. It would be really shitty of me to do that to you.”

“What stopped you from asking me out then?”

“Dominic. But I was attracted to him, too. He suddenly came onto me. I never expected that. I was pretty blown away. I couldn’t even think straight for days afterwards. But my original intention was to ask you out, not him.”

“A-and what does that mean now? Or does it even mean anything? How do I know you’re not just telling me this to persuade me to come along to be your doctor?”

“It means I’ve cared about you since I met you and still do. It means I can’t just forget about you and put you out of my life.”

Another several moments of strained silence. 

Brian glanced over his shoulder at the bathroom door, worried Dom may come out to check on him.

“But you’ve been staying with him every night in a hotel. You expect me to believe you’re not sleeping together? Then what are you doing there with him? You don’t have to stay there.”

“I don’t have much time to talk about this right now.” Another glance back.

“I don’t get it. You’re not sleeping with him because of me?”

A far cry from the truth. “No, that’s not it. I want to be honest with you. I had to lie to you before for my job, but I don’t ever want to do that to you guys again. I’d rather not tell you over the phone, though, in case they are tapping your line.” He knew the department had been tapping the Torettos’ line and it was policy for them to change tactics after the kidnapping and the murder of the surveillance team, but he chose not to give her that information. “If you come meet me downtown, I’ll tell you. You just can't tell this to anyone else. Not Jesse or your cousins or anyone, okay? Meet me downtown, you can get yourself a new outfit, and I’ll tell you in private if we can arrange that.”

“You…you want me to buy something you’d like to see me in?”

“Yeah.” That was a pleasant thought. “I’d like that.”

“Something you’d like me to wear to your wedding?”

“Well, I’d like that. But no, you don’t have to come to the wedding. I get that you wouldn’t be comfortable. I don’t think I’d be comfortable going to your wedding to someone else either, so I’ve got no right to insist you come. We’ll talk about you coming out of town with us later, though. You don’t have much time, but I want to give you the option.”

Mia sighed audibly. “Well, where are we supposed to meet?”

“We’ll call you back with all that. Dom and I gotta figure it out.” He hung up.

~~~

Certain she’d regret it, Mia dug through her suitcases after lunch to find something easy to change out of in case she decided to take O'Conner up on his offer. For the first time ever he’d told her he wanted her to dress for him. When she thought of all he times she’d dressed for him before and he’d seemed not to notice, it occurred to her that he simply may be very adept at hiding it. Probably for the sake of Dom. Evidently, however, he’d been enjoying her tight, close-fitting clothes. It was beyond thrilling to discover this.

She found her knit, loose cap-sleeved blouse. It was black with small white polka dots. The hemline was handkerchief, tunic-length, the bodice tight-fitting and ruched in the center, with a rounded sweetheart neckline. Rather than pants, which would be a pain in the ass for clothes shopping, she wore a short, full white skirt to show off her legs, which she hoped Brian would appreciate. Expecting to do some walking on hard, city sidewalks, she put her black lace ballet-style flats on her bare feet. Then with a rising, excited angst in the pit of her stomach, she parked her Integra in a parking garage and let Jesse lead them to the tuxedo shop where they were to meet.

On sight of Brian, that pit of anxiety felt even worse. Yes, she’d seen him numerous times since he’d come to the market to buy the garage, as he’d been helping her and Jesse pack up the house, but suddenly she was surprised all over again. Here he was in this shop of fine tuxedos with her brother whom she’d not seen nearly as much, and Brian was dressed very unexpectedly.

He was wearing a knit heather gray, high-low hemmed skirt and a cute, loose, button-front, fluttery fuchsia blouse under his open denim jacket. The slip-on athletic shoes which he wore were also heather gray with white soles. The sight of his smooth, bare lower legs made her swallow; she’d had no idea they were so attractive; she’d only seen him in long pants. Made-up again unlike he usually came over to pack, in that outfit he was even more spectacularly beautiful. Suddenly she realized she was essentially gawping at Brian behind her dark shades when her brother took her in a crushing embrace. 

Whereas it had been Mia’s intention to impress Brian with her clothes, she was completely disconcerted at finding the situation reversed. However, Brian too was wearing shades, so she had no idea if he even noticed her outfit as he gave her a much looser, briefer hug than Dom had given her. “Thanks for comin’.” Brian flashed his pretty teeth at her.

“You…” she stammered. “You’re wearing a skirt…”

It was Dom who responded to the comment while Brian looked away embarrassed or uncertain. “And he’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

“I’ll say,” Jesse piped up enthusiastically, eyes wide.

Hoping she wouldn’t be misinterpreted, Mia fumbled further. “I-it’s just that I’ve never seen him-you in a dress, you know?”

“I like it.” Dom took Brian around the waist and drew him close, nuzzling his curls. “I plan to get him more clothes like this.”

There was no doubt the feminine clothes flattered Brian. She just hadn’t been prepared to see him dressed this way. “I-It’s nice,” she quickly concurred, unable to keep from admiring the lovely soft pink, slightly orchid color of Brian’s shiny lipstick. “Very nice. I like it,” she allowed at the risk of raising her brother’s hackles. In fact, the way it enhanced the contour of his lips made her heart beat faster.

In the background, she thought she heard Dom say something about tuxedos. She could hardly hear him, deafened by the rush of blood in her ears and too distracted trying to sneak further glimpses of Brian.

While Dom and Jesse proceeded to look through the merchandise, Mia noted that Brian only lagged after them, evidently not that interested in shopping.

“What do you think, Mia?” Dom stressed, as if he was beginning to get annoyed from repeating himself. “What do you think would look good on Jesse?”

Abruptly, Mia had to shift gears. “What about your tuxedo? Ordinarily, the store carries groomsmen’s tuxedos to match the groom’s.”

“Mine was pretty expensive,” Dom admitted. “Maybe there’s a simpler version. Mine’s a four-piece.”

Surprised, she blinked at him. That sounded more upscale than she’d been imagining. “Really?”

“In gray,” her brother continued. “I told them it was a daytime beach wedding and they said only gray would be appropriate. The cutaway style only comes in black or gray.”

“Well,” she remarked, “that sounds expensive.” All of a sudden it struck her that her brother was actually getting married. Truly struck her. And he seemed very serious about it. Sure, she’d expected he would one day, but when his involvement with Letty became serious, Mia changed her mind about the whole prospect. Now not only was he not getting married to Ortiz after all, his partner instead turned out to be the man she’d fallen in love with. Furthermore, according to him, he wouldn’t even make love with her brother anymore. Nor her for that matter. God, it was all too weird for her to process.

“How much was it?” Jesse asked, seeming leery of the answer.

“With the accessories,” Brian went on, “it came out to like around three thousand dollars. And that was just the tux and shoes. You don’t even want to know about the rest of the accessories. Or the ring.”

Jesse exhaled. “Man, I’d be scared to wear something that expensive.”

“Is this where you bought the tux?” Mia questioned.

“Yeah,” Dom said. “They’re tailoring it right now. Hopefully it’ll be done by the time we get done here.”

“Then ask them what they recommend to pair it with,” Mia said. “Hopefully something less expensive.”

While Dom started to lead the way to the service desk, Mia caught Brian to confer quietly with him.

“Now that Dom’s getting the staff in on it,” Mia posed, “why don’t we go look for my outfit?”

No longer in the dark glasses, Brian ceased following Dom and Jesse and looked to her. “Huh?”

“There was a dress shop across the way,” she said. “I’d like to start shopping.”

“Oh, I thought you…” Brian seemed to think better. “Okay. Lemme just tell Dom we’re leaving.” He shouldered his gray gold hardware-embellished, somewhat expensive-looking box bag then went after her brother.

Momentarily, she removed her own shades to take Brian in from behind for an unimpeded view. Mm, was all she could think. Those long legs were downright sexy. As were his bony but trim-muscled shoulders. Damn, she wished he’d take off the denim jacket.

When she reached them where the clerk had taken down some tuxedo jackets to display, Dom addressed her. “We haven’t chosen the wedding gown yet,” he told her. “You won’t know what to get until he gets his.”

“I already said I wasn’t going to be the Maid of Honor,” Mia reiterated heatedly, folding her arms. “Brian told me to buy myself whatever I want. He’s coming with me to help me choose something. I’ll think about whether or not I’m coming to the wedding.” Though she had no desire to.

“What’re you talking about?” Dom sounded mystified. “I thought that’s why you’re buying a new dress at all. And you’re supposed to help me choose a gown for Brian. I figure you’d know more about that kind of thing than either of us. His gown is the most important thing right now. Then you can buy yourself a new dress.”

With the clerk close by, Mia didn’t want to cause a scene. “I was told I could buy anything I wanted. If you want my opinion on your final decision of what to get him that’s another matter. We’ll be at the store across the street. If we go somewhere else we’ll call you and let you know.”

Concerned about the clerk as well, Dom glanced over to him and Jesse on the way to the mirrors. He exhaled, but kept his voice lowered. “Listen, Mia. You’re my sister. How can you say you’re not coming to my wedding? How would you feel if you were getting married and I refused to show up? Come on.”

If she couldn’t have Brian, she didn’t give a damn about getting married. “As if you’d ever let me,” she hissed.

“Don’t say that,” he persisted, looking hurt.

“Why don’t we just go get started?” Brian suggested. “I’ll help her find something she likes. I’ll tell her what you’ve got in mind for my gown and we can look for something that wouldn’t be too far off. Maybe she’ll get some ideas to suggest for my gown. You come join us soon as you get done with Jesse and you’ll get the final say on my gown, you know.”

Dominic’s eyes passed over Brian. “Did Pearce chose that blouse and skirt?”

“Well, yeah, but--” Brian began.

“Excuse me,” Dom interrupted, “but I don’t think you’ll be helping my sister choose an outfit. What store are you going to? Don’t go anywhere else without telling us. If we lose track, we’ll have a hell of a time finding each other again out here in the middle of the shopping district. Mia, make sure Brian sits down as much as possible and that if he needs anything, if he gets hungry, make sure he gets it.”

“He’s not an invalid,” Mia huffed. She shouldered her own department store purse and grabbed Brian’s elbow through the denim jacket.

~~~

In the formal shop, Mia sauntered through, searching the racks. “What would you like to see me in? I’m thinking sexy for the first time in my life. Something really sultry, you know what I mean? If you okay it, Dom can’t say a word. Tight. Backless. I don't know. I’ve never had the chance to get whatever I wanted. First it was only what my mom approved of. And you know how moms are. Then it was Dom.” She continued her perusal. Feeling daring, she allowed herself to inquire, “Um, what do you think of what I’m wearing?”

Tucking his sunglasses in his purse, he paused to look her over point-blank. He was actually looking at her. Her heart caught in her throat. His gaze lingered on her legs, bust, and the show of skin displayed by the neckline of the blouse. “I like it.”

Oh, God. She was going to hyperventilate. “You do? You really do?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “I really do.”

“I-I honestly thought you never noticed.”

“I noticed. Are you sure you wanna get something like really sexy? Dom’s not gonna like it.”

“To hell with him.” Espying a pastel mint green cocktail party dress, Mia snatched it off the rack. It had an illusion neckline, the edge of which was decorated with rhinestones. The full, short skirt was layered chiffon, sprinkled with a few small rhinestones. Perfect for dancing. Beneath the illusion, the bodice was completely strapless. This meant she couldn’t wear an ordinary bra with it. “How ‘bout something like this? Do you like this?”

“Yeah.” Brian scratched his temple beneath his curls, looking undecided. “Only I don’t know what your brother would think about it.”

“I don’t care what he’d think about it,” she said. “It would make a nice wedding party dress. And if I decide not to come to the wedding, I can still go out partying in it. It’s about time,” she said with resolve. “With Dom tied up at the beach, he won't be around to interfere and for the first time in my life I’ll be able to go out on my own and have fun. You guys are gonna be partying in Santa Monica, so why shouldn’t I party, too? I'm not about to sit home by myself, bored.” She found another similar cute, bejeweled dress with a short, full skirt, this one lavender in color.

“What are you talking about?” Brian wanted to know. “What do you mean you’re ‘not about to sit home’ by yourself’? No one’s telling you to sit home.”

“My brother is. Unless I go to the wedding. Well, I’ve made up my mind and I'm not going.” Holding the lavender dress to her body, she looked down herself. “How does it look?”

“Good. They’d both look good on you,” he said unhelpfully. “But I'm not about to let you go out by yourself and party any more than Dom would, so you’d better get that idea out of your head.”

Coyly, she regarded him. “No? Are you coming out with me?”

“After the wedding? You wanna go that bad, I guess we could. We’re not having a reception or anything, so I guess we can all have a night out before we leave Los Angeles.”

She cut her eyes away. “I was hoping you’d put off the wedding and come out with me, instead. Don’t you get it?”

“Mia, come on…”

“Oh, never mind,” she sulked as she carried the two dresses to a mirror to see how they looked for herself. Despite his beauty, O'Conner was acting like a thoughtless dick.

Showing at least a modicum of promise, he trailed after her and watched her toy with the dresses. He was right; they did both look good.

“Look, Mia, Dom’s gonna be my husband, so you’re gonna just have to accept it…”

If he wasn’t going to relent then neither was she. “Which is exactly why I’m going out. Maybe I’ll buy myself a few dresses with the money you gave me. After all, I’ll be able to go out as much as I want once Dom leaves again. I won't have Jesse to take care of anymore. I’ll be on my own and able to go out with whomever I please for the first time in my life.” She released a breath of relief. It wasn’t what she wanted, but evidently there was no hope for that. The chance to actually have a life without her family’s interference should be welcome.

“But wait a minute. You’ve got to come with us. I need you.”

“Hah,” she scoffed. “You don’t want me. You’re gonna get what you want.” Focusing on the dress, she fought not to dwell on what the wedding would represent. With its fuller skirt, perhaps she’d go with the mint dress…

“I’m serious. I really need you to come with us. It’s too risky for me not to be monitored.”

“You shouldn’t have let yourself get knocked up in the first place,” she hissed. “Like you didn’t know how to prevent it from happening.” On catching sight of a clerk, Mia gathered the dresses and headed for her. “I’d like to try these on, please.”

Leading Mia off to the dressing rooms, the clerk looked at her choices. “Oh, you know there’s another dress in seafoam green like the one you’re holding. It’s completely strapless. Would be interested in trying that one on, too?”

Completely strapless? Perhaps she could get Brian’s attention if she wore something that risqué in front of him. If that didn’t work then nothing would. She paused and glanced back to see him standing where she’d left him. He appeared stunned, hurt, and worried. “Yes, I think I’d love to.”

“I’ll go get it for you,” the clerk said. “You go ahead and get started with the dresses and I’ll bring it in. What size?”

“Wait.” Mia reconsidered. “I’m going to get my friend to help. After all, he’s the one who’s buying me the dress, so he can tell me what he prefers.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll go put the dresses in a room for you.” The clerk took them from Mia and headed for the back of the shop.

Returning to Brian, Mia began anew. “Why don’t you come help me try them on? I suppose you can explain why you chose only now to become abstinent. You should have thought of that before you got knocked up. Then you wouldn’t be in the high-risk mess you’re in.”

“You think I didn’t try?”

“Frankly, it doesn’t look like you made any effort whatsoever.”

“You’re wrong. We both put in a lot of effort. In the end, it couldn’t have gone any better if we’d planned it. I know now this is the best thing that could have happened. If you knew how Dom’s been acting—the way he’s been talking--you wouldn’t say that. His whole attitude is completely different than it was when I first met him. Like I said, I was gonna explain the important details to you about it anyway.”

She heaved. “Yeah? Well, I honestly don’t care what he thinks. I’ve spent my whole life having my needs and wants put aside especially for him and I'm sick and tired of it. So, do you really give a damn about helping me chose a dress for tonight or are you just bullshitting me to get my cooperation? At the very least we’ll have a little privacy in a dressing room if you come with me. Don’t expect us to ever have a chance to talk privately again, since I doubt we’ll be seeing much of each other ever again after today.”

“But we will.” His expression was pained. “We’re gonna be family.”

Why did he have to be so damn adorable? Hastily she had to look away or she might break down. “Oh, why don’t you just go back to Dom right now? You’ve already said your worst, so I’m accepting it. The longer I have to look at you, the harder it is, so the sooner you leave the better.” She turned to head for the dressing rooms.

“It doesn’t have to be that way.” Brian caught her arm. “I can’t just forget about you.”

“The only way you care about me is in having someone around to make sure you don’t lose your brat and you know it. Which, I’m sure you can imagine doesn’t endear me to you or your situation. Don’t forget I already know what a good liar you are.”

“That’s not true. There’s no way you can tell me you don’t care about your own family. You’re too good a person for that to be true. Come on.” This time he led her to the back of the store. “I’ll come with you to help you choose a dress.”

Confused and flustered, Mia couldn’t bring herself to resist Brian’s hold. The clerk was just exiting the dressing room as they arrived and indicated she’d left another garment. It hung on a hook in front of the others. Mouth ajar, Mia studied the new dress. It was truly strapless, with a tightly rouched bodice that promised to cling descriptively to her bosom. Large rhinestones were sewn in front in a triangular pattern to further enhance the cleavage of the wearer. The filmy chiffon layers of the short skirt were just as ample as on the first dress. 

On her way across the enclosed room to reach the clothes, she allowed her purse to slip to the bench in front of the mirrors. She took the shimmering fabric in her hands in awe. “Would…” she swallowed, finding it hard to dare ask, “would you like to see me in this?”

“…I’d have to be stupid not to…”

Still stunned, she looked to him. He was eyeing her body with little reserve. What? Was she dreaming? In Never-Neverland?

Catching her breath, she took the hem of her blouse and lifted it slowly, awaiting his reaction. He didn’t withdraw or find some pretense to leave the room, at least. As she stripped down to her bra and matching low-cut panties she could feel his gaze remained on her. Never mind that the dress was strapless, she wasn’t taking her bra off with him gawping. Wait, of course he wasn’t gawping. He didn’t give a damn about her. She was just so stupidly crazy about him she was only imaging she could feel his gaze.

Profile to the mirrors, she unhooked her bra and hung it on one of the hooks, making an effort not to use her peripheral vision to verify that indeed O'Conner was looking nowhere near her. Carefully, she slipped the dress from the hanger and over her head. Shocked, she gasped quietly to herself when she felt him assist and ease the dress down her back. Only then was she unable to keep from glancing in the mirror. God, she swore he was looking her up and down in entirety with approval as he zipped her up. Instantly, she ripped her eyes from his image. No way! She had to be dreaming. 

At that point, she turned to the mirrors to tug and fit the dress into place. By his reflection, she was aware he remained behind her, and yes, still observing her. His expression was irrefutably appreciative; she hadn’t invented it.

Flustered all over again, she was unable to continue the conversation. In fact, it seemed Brian had just deleted the whole dilemma along with all her worries and fears.

She turned to face him, raising her chin so their eyes could meet. Her arms slipped around his neck to pull him down while she reached up to kiss his exquisite, subtly made-up mouth. Giving him no chance to arrest her, she deepened the kiss, drawing him closer, until their bodies pressed together. He was strong and solid, and he smelled wonderful…

At first he caught her rib cage, though he didn’t interfere with her actions. After several moments of her breathless kissing, he drew from her. “The dress looks great on you.” He stepped around her, to view from all sides. “I just don’t know how Dom’ll feel about it. It’s pretty sexy.”

“I don’t care about what Dom thinks about anything. What do you think?”

“I just told you,” Brian chuckled.

“Then I want it. And I want more. I’m not sure about the price, but I think it’s under two-hundred. Help me chose another dress. Whatever you want. I want to get only whatever you’d like to see me in.”

“There’re a couple of things wrong with that. The main one is we don’t have time for that right now. I think maybe you should choose one of the other dresses you brought in so you don’t get into a blowout with your brother. Because he’s gonna be coming over here soon as he’s done with Jesse’s outfit. At which time we should probably be ready to go find my gown. Dom’ll get pissed that we haven’t started looking for one yet. He was really counting on your help with that.”

Unwilling to give in to her brother’s demands yet once more, Mia resisted. She studied herself in the mirror once more, taking in Brian’s tall, striking presence behind her as well. It wasn’t evident that he was pregnant in his loose-fitting clothes. Only his bust was noticeable, making him a helluva gorgeous herm partner. “But you like it…”

“I think the other dresses are pretty, too. I really like the jewels on the skirt of the other green dress. You’ll look incredible dancing in that. You think he won’t object to that one, even though it’s essentially strapless as well under the sheer fabric?”

“I told you, I don’t care what he thinks. Whichever ones you like the best are the ones I want. I've gone without a bra before. You know, you’ve seen me…Then again, maybe you weren’t paying any attention. Anyway, I don’t care about what he thinks. Here, unzip me and I’ll try on these other dresses. I think I saw a long red one out on the floor that I kind of liked. Maybe I’ll try that one, too.”

When she felt him unzip the bodice, which was probably a size too large, she shuddered. Both at his touch and from the air conditioning vent. Certainly much more from his touch.

The fact that he said nothing about noticing her having gone braless was no help. She lifted her hair to give him all the access he wanted, but he did nothing more than lower her zipper.

“Tell me which red dress you’re talking about and I’ll go get it for you while you try these on.”

She pouted. Then as she let the dress fall forward, turned back to him. His gaze was glued to her bare breasts, and she knew her nipples were jutting out both from the cold and her excitement. On the ice blue backdrop of his ires, she saw his pupils dilate. “First of all, I need the next size down in this dress; this one is too loose. And the red dress is floor-length with an all lace, backless bodice.”

“B-backless?” Brian sounded understandably hesitant. “Dom’ll never go for that.”

“I’ve worn halters before. They’re sort of backless. What can he say? Anyway, this dress has a long skirt, so that should…” It appeared to her that Brian was blushing as he struggled not to stare at her breasts. There was only one thing to do in the situation. She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss again. Not only did he allow it, he kissed her back. Strongly.

Excitedly, she hastened to draw him closer, wrapping a leg around his.

He suddenly broke free. “Uh, I’ll go look for the dresses. You try on the others.” Fumbling, he hiked his purse strap on his shoulder and fled the room.

~~~ 

Out on the floor of the shop, Brian attempted to buy some time to calm his nerves. What in hell was he doing in there with the sister of his fiancé? Okay, she was the one who made the moves, but why didn’t he stop her? He’d been so intrigued with her advances, he fell just short of encouraging them. What in hell did he think he was doing? Admittedly, he’d had a crush on Mia from the beginning. But wasn’t he over that by now? Wasn’t Dominic the only one he wanted? Yes, undoubtedly. There was no disputing that. Yet Mia’s proximity made her so fascinating. Not to mention her intense desire for Brian. He certainly wasn’t blind to that. It was impossible not to like someone who was so taken with him. With the odd experiences he’d had in his life so far, he had no idea how to handle this situation.

Worse, just seeing her undress had given him an instant hard-on. That shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Fortunately, his panty briefs and loose, full skirt hid it, as long as he remained standing. Unless he were to promptly place his purse on his lap, he’d better not sit down or the knit fabric might drape too graphically over his prominent bulge.

The salesclerk abruptly interrupted his thoughts to offer assistance. He could barely remember his own name, let alone what he was supposed to report. He stuttered incoherently at first, then finally remembered to tell her about the change in size for the strapless dress. That was, if Mia was determined to buy that one. Fortunately, the clerk knew what to do. Then he remembered to tell her about the red dress. Not having seen it himself he couldn’t be sure, but at least it bought more time to prevent him from having to return to the dressing room in any hurry.

For her part, the clerk showed him a number of red dresses. But the one Mia must have meant seemed apparent enough. She’d look great in it for sure, but there were another few she’d do justice to, as well. One was even more classic in styling, something Dom would probably condone. It was dark red velvet, with a full, tight bodice and a wide, acceptably short skirt. Under it were multiple layers of contrasting black tulle to match the sweetheart neckline’s black cups. Perhaps Mia might think it a little too conservative, but Brian thought it was extremely sexy, in spite of that.

He sent the salesclerk to the dressing room with the new dresses and followed at a safe distance.

Only when Mia opened the door wearing the rhinestone-studded, mint-colored dress, her hair a tousled mess, she immediately looked for Brian. She relieved at the sight of him, while the clerk took in the other dresses. “There you are,” Mia said. “I was afraid maybe you’d gone back to the tuxedo shop or something. I tried on the lavender one, but I didn’t like it as much.” She was holding the dress closed at her waist in back. “What do you think of this one, after all, compared to the strapless seafoam dress?”

“I like it even better.” That was the truth. She looked spectacular. Spectacular enough to take out dancing that very evening.

“You really think so?” Mia asked, starting to smile.

“Yeah,” Brian nodded.

The clerk spoke up. “Is this the dress you were interested in, Miss?” She held up the long red one with the lace.

“That’s it,” Mia agreed. Then turned her back to Brian. “Zip me up.”

He did while the clerk took the red dresses into the room to hang up. Without question, the dress looked amazing on her after it was fastened when she turned back to model it.

“Should I to try these on, too?” Mia continued. “Or should I just get this one?”

“Whatever you want,” Brian assured her. “But remember, we gotta be ready to go when Dom gets here.”

“Okay, you help me and I’ll try them on real quick,” she decided. “It would be nice to have more than one new dress to go out in.”

With a little subtle manipulation, Brian managed to get himself back out on the showroom floor when Toretto and Rystrom entered the shop. Appropriately, too, Brian was looking at the few wedding dresses they had on the floor. The same salesclerk had shown them to him, but he already knew Dom wouldn’t approve of any of them. By that time, Mia had tried on the last dress and was replacing the clothes she’d worn for the shopping trip. Sure enough, on sight, Toretto dismissed the wedding gowns he saw.

“There are a few more styles--” the clerk attempted, but Dom ignored her. “Is Mia ready to leave, I hope? We gotta go find your gown.”

“She should be about ready,” Brian concurred.

“Did she choose something like we’re planning to get for your gown?”

“No,” Brian admitted. None of the dresses she’d tried on were even vaguely like the styles Dom had shown interest in the day before. “But that’s okay; I already told her to get what she wanted and she didn’t have to be my Maid of Honor or Bridesmaid or anything.”

Dom studied Brian seriously a moment. “What? Isn’t she coming to the wedding? I thought you were going to convince her.”

“I-I can’t say for sure, you know? She didn’t say one way or the other. But at least she’s not pissed anymore, so there’s a better chance she might come. I think I can work on her a little more to try and ensure that. I’ll go tell her you and Jesse are here and we’re ready to go, in fact.”

~~~

Though exhilarated about the new dresses locked in the trunk of her Acura, that didn’t compare to what Mia felt when she saw just what kind of a gown her brother had in mind for his bride. To put it bluntly, she was stunned. Brian hadn’t given her any insight about this, though he clearly seemed to have an idea of what kind of gown they were shopping for. He was, however, rather reserved about it.

The bridal shop they went to was upscale. It was one of those places where there were only a few dresses and a catalog on the floor, and patrons chose what they wanted of the available styles. The clerk then had to go bring out the dress in the style requested. The magnificent dresses would probably do Brian justice, but Mia couldn’t help being bewildered by the fact that nothing Dom chose was maternity.

When Mia’s opinion was requested by Dom, she had to speak up. The sales clerks seemed more bent on selling their expensive merchandise than on fitting the customer. Mia was aware Brian wasn’t overly obvious, yet on his thin frame, his state was visible. “Well, how on Earth do you expect him to wear those?” she finally demanded of a willowy dress with a subtle mermaid skirt and the tight, crystal-garnished bustiers of the ball gowns that Dom selected. “He’s having a baby, for Christ’s sake!”

This statement apparently surprised the lead salesman. “Is that right? Congratulations. I didn’t realize you were expecting.”

The pride on Dom’s face annoyed Mia. “Thank you. But he’s not so pregnant he can’t fit into any of these dresses with a little alteration, is he? You couldn’t even tell.”

The salesman eyed Brian up and down, then suggested, “Why don’t you try on the dresses and see which ones might fit? We’ll do whatever alterations we can. I’m sure you’ll find one you’ll be happy with. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good,” Dom rumbled, sidling up close to O'Conner. “Which ones do you think would look best on him, Mia?”

Jesse supplied the answer, excitedly. “They all would! He’d be awesome in all of them.”

Clucking, Mia cleared her throat. The mermaid dress actually had an empire waist, which would make it the most practical, even though the shape wasn’t for a maternity case. “This one,” she indicated, “might be the only one that’ll fit him with some alteration. I don’t see how the others could fit at all since they all have very fitted waists.”

Dom suddenly appeared troubled. “Are you sure?”

In all honesty, she didn’t know. She’d only seen Brian in jackets or mostly loose clothing. The only thing tight she’d ever seen him in were those jeans he wore on the days he’d shown up to buy the garage. She couldn’t see how pregnant he was under the rest of his clothes. Why was her brother asking her? Then she remembered that according to Brian, they’d not had sex in all those months. He must have been keeping himself well-covered, too. “No, but my guess is that this one,” she indicated the one with the mermaid fit in the catalog, “is the only one that could fit him with alterations.”

“But,” Dom argued, “I like the other ones, too. Maybe even more. You go with him and see what can work and how they look. I’d do it myself, but you know—it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride in his ensemble before the wedding day.”

“Me!” She almost jumped. Though instantly, a surge of electricity shot through her at the thought of seeing Brian nearly naked. “Wha—I-I’d love to help.”

Suddenly Jesse volunteered, too. “Hell, I’ll do it! I’ll help!”

“Don’t need any help,” Brian mumbled.

“Mia will go,” Dom decided. “She’s got an eye for these things. She’s also had experience choosing outfits in wedding parties since she was like seven or eight years old. She’s good at it.”

Never had Mia thought she’d be in such a situation in her future, but she had enjoyed her previous experience. “That’s right, I have done it before. Well,” she told the salesman, “you’d better see which dresses you have in stock and if you even have his size, 'cos the wedding’s only on Saturday, so that doesn’t give you much time to do alterations.”

“Saturday?” The salesman hesitated. “That may not be enough time. Especially if we have to order the dress.”

~~~

At least the dressing room in the bridal shop was nicer and roomier than the one where Mia had bought her dresses. Other than that, Brian was uncomfortable in the room. As soon as he realized Mia was ready to sweep in like she was invited, he took the hangers she held and caught the door to shut down on her. “Just wait outside the door; I’ll call you when I need your help, okay?”

“What? I can help you right now. Dom said to help you, didn’t you hear him?”

“I’ve been dressing and undressing myself since I was a little kid, you know. I think I can do this part myself.” Though he saw disappointment in her eyes, he closed the door. Brian hadn’t exactly expected to strip in front of her, especially in his state.

Leaving his jacket and purse on a hook in the room, he regarded the yards of petticoats the clerks had brought in and began to reconsider if he might need Mia’s help after all. He’d worn petticoats before, but not like this. The ones he’d worn were short and simple, not a mass of floor-length tulle.

Well, fuck it. He’d worry about the petticoat after he got into the dresses, if that was possible.

The first dress he decided to try on was the one Mia had felt might be the only one he could fit into. The lack of massive petticoats would also make it easier to get into on his own. As he got out of his loose blouse and skirt, he wondered whether he need remove his bra. It might not be necessary, as the dress had triangular, lace-covered shoulder straps. It was the shape-defining satin lacing up the back that was the trouble.

After he’d been wrestling with it for a while, Mia finally made an inquiry.

“Is everything okay, Brian? You need any help?”

He’d taken a seat on one of the club chairs in the room to struggle with the damn thing. In fact, he did want help, but as the lacing started to give, it seemed he might be able to manage on his own. “In a minute. Soon as I get this thing on.”

Soon after that he was snaking it over his head. With a bodice made of satin or something like it, it wasn’t that forgiving. He had to loosen it further, then decided that drawing the sheath of the dress up over his hips might work better; it wouldn’t have to clear his shoulders.

It did work better that way, he discovered, a trick Mia probably would have suggested had she been present. It was a tight fit, but he managed to get it over his belly. Another couple of weeks and that maneuver may not even be possible. Overlying the skirt, was an ultra-sheer drape that was embellished with delicate lace and pearls. It added a nice touch. With the lacing so loosened up in back, there was no telling if it even fit. Brian had to hold the dress to his bosom with one hand and the skirt up in front with the other just to pad to the door. Dropping his skirt, he opened it, inviting Mia in. “Can you come help me now?” he asked.

Her dark eyes traversed him, shining with what, he was uncertain. Pleasure? Amusement? Her smile, when it broke through was at least reassuring. “What?” he asked. “It looks like shit?”

“No…It looks beautiful…”

Though he sincerely doubted that, he headed for the back of the room, back to her. “Can you do me up?”

“I’ll do my best. That’s a very cute bra you’ve got on.”

It was simple with fluttery white straps, similar in shape to the straps of the dress he was wearing. It was also the only one that was lined, as he knew he’d be trying on clothes and hadn’t relished the thought of flashing his tits at sales clerks. He glanced down at himself. Because the dress was hanging loosely in front, it was very visible. Once again he was thankful he’d worn that bra. Perhaps it was considerably cuter than her fairly ordinary stretch bra. He made no comment.

Seemingly skillfully, she began tightening up the satin lacing in back. “Hmm,” she murmured.

“What?”

“I think it’s gonna be too tight on your belly. Look in the mirror.”

From behind him, he saw her eyeing one of the side mirrors. He followed her line of vision. The dress was tightly binding the seams over his sides thanks to his protruding abdomen poking out in a way it wasn’t supposed to.

“Otherwise,” Mia went on, “it fits pretty well.” She was fitting the lacing further up his back. “I didn’t realize you showed so much.” She kept drawing the fabric neatly across his ribs and chest. “If it wasn’t for that, you’d be absolutely stunning in this dress.”

Before she could cinch him in too tightly, he quickly adjusted his tender breasts in the cups. “You really think it won’t work?”

“I’m trying to leave it loose in the gut but it looks too tight. What do you think?”

Brian tried more adjusting, this time through the skirt. “But the other dresses…You said yourself they weren’t gonna fit.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Dom’s really got his heart set on one of these.” She sighed. “Maybe if you got another size up, they could take it in up here in the bust but leave you enough room in the waist…Let me try some more.” She wrested further with the lacing.

In the interim, Brian felt himself growing hotter and more uncomfortable. The baby stirred. Damn. He didn’t need the baby to wake up and make matters worse.

“So, um…” Mia began, “what’s the story with you two then?”

“What story?”

“I don't know, you said you weren't sleeping together.”

“Oh, that. You really think this isn’t gonna work? Are you sure?” Brian tried still more readjusting at the seams that time.

“Careful.” Mia caught his hands. “You’ll tear it. You’ll be forced to buy it, then.”

“Never mind this dress then. Lemme try another.” He reached behind himself to tug at the opening in back. “Just loosen it up.”

“Here, let me,” she gently rebuked.

As the dress loosened, Brian was surprised at the relief he felt. He couldn’t wait to snatch the dress off, either. At that point he didn’t care if he’d be in his underwear in front of Mia.

“Are you or aren’t you? Or were you just saying that to talk me into coming with you today?”

Brian was mystified. “How would that talk you into coming with us?”

“Because.” She kept loosing. “…Because there’s really more to it than that.”

That didn’t help. He had no idea what she was trying to infer. “Truth is, we’re not.”

“Why not?”

In shame, he lowered his lids. “Just don’t tell anyone, all right? The only ones who know this are Dominic and my doctor. I couldn’t even tell my doctor. He had to see the evidence for himself; I couldn’t say it. Don’t tell Jesse, or nobody. I couldn’t even tell my mom. It was the doctor who told Dom; I couldn’t.”

She paused, waiting silently.

Despite that they were in private, Brian spoke even quieter. “When they kidnapped me, they raped me. They just did. Handcuffed me to the bed for hours and hours. Drugged me. And raped me over and over. I'm not ready for it yet. I want Dom—I want him so bad, but I can't.”

Suddenly she was in front of him, leading him to a chair. “My God,” she murmured, seating him gingerly. “No wonder Dom’s treating you like hand-blown glass. What are you even doing out here walking around in the middle of downtown? And all that packing you’ve been doing around our house. Not to mention that you’re expecting and you’re high-risk. Why have you been doing all this stuff? This is crazy. Why didn’t you tell me? You could have told me. You should have told me. I’m a medical student. This is the reason you need me to come along. Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Standing close, she hugged his head to her abdomen. “My God, Brian, of course I’ll come with you out when you leave LA. I wouldn’t dare let you go anywhere on your own.

“This is the reason I didn’t tell you,” he said. “You wouldn’t have let me do anything. I’d honestly rather keep busy.”

“I get it. Really, I do. But you’ve been through way too much. Physically and psychologically. Look,” her voice cracked slightly and she sniffed. “Let’s just get you this dress. The store can probably alter it enough if we get a size up and it’ll fit you for the wedding, okay?” She sniffed again.

The last thing Brian had wanted was to alarm her or earn her concern through sympathy. “Look, I’m a lot better, physically. It’s been a week--”

“A week? That’s nothing!”

“Please don’t be upset, Mia. This is not what I wanted.” He looked up her and saw her wet eyes. That only pushed him to the brink of tears. “And don’t cry, man, 'cos it’ll make me cry. I'm not kidding, man. Here’s what we’ll do.” Gathering himself, he stood up. “Go get that other dress.” He pointed at the one hanging on the hook that had most impressed Dom. “Help me try that one on. Let’s see if we can make that one work. Maybe I can get that one in a size up and they can alter it down to fit me. Think they can do that?” He looked at her hopefully.

Her gaze passed back and forth from the dress to his body, then back again. “I don't know…It might not be possible…”

“But it’s worth a try. That’s the one he liked the most.”

“It’s beautiful, but it’s so fitted.”

“I don’t care. I’ll wear a girdle if I have to, but that’s the dress he wants, so that’s the dress I’m wearin’. Now let’s get this on me and see what we’ve got to do.” He began struggling to loosen the lacing again himself if he had to.

That convinced her. She quickly took over. As soon as the satin was loose enough, Brian dropped the dress to the carpet and stepped out of it. Thirsty as he was beginning to feel, he tried to ignore it and went straight to where the dress and its petticoat hung. The air conditioning was a relief on his bare skin. Taking the dress off the hanger, he decided on using the same tactic, as the waist would be difficult to squeeze his shoulders through. He scrabbled at the lacings to loosen them up in advance.

“Wait, wait,” Mia suddenly appealed, tossing the first dress and its hanger onto the other chair. “Petticoat first.”

“Huh?” Confused, Brian glanced to the abundant net fabric. “What for?”

“It’s a lot harder to get it in place if you try putting it on after the dress.”

“Why?”

“Just take my word for it.” Grabbing the hanger, she swiftly removed the petticoat. Then she dropped it to the carpet, but held the waist for Brian to step into. While using her offered shoulder for balance, he felt her scrutinizing his body. Her gaze lingered particularly over his crotch so intently he had to look away in embarrassment. By no means was it the first time Brian had experienced this, but for Mia to be the one doing the gawking was pretty damn disconcerting. He didn’t know what was more uncomfortable; her eyeing his pouch or down the front of his bra.

“Um,” Mia cleared her throat. “How far along did you say you were?”

“According to what Dr. Adams guessed, about eighteen weeks now.” As soon as possible, he straightened up holding the petticoat around his waist. Loose elastic and a trailing drawstring promised to hold the waistband in place.

“Eighteen weeks, huh?” Mia’s scrutiny continued, but at least it was now confined to his waistline. “I couldn’t tell when you were dressed, but now I see you look it. You’re almost halfway done.”

“I am?” He started. He’d not considered it in those terms and it scared him all over again as much as it excited him. Half-way through? What was he gonna do with a baby? He didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a baby. That was more than a month longer than his first pregnancy had lasted. No, things were way different this time; he had Toretto. Toretto wasn’t a scared kid like Rome had been. And with the way he loved Dom, there was no doubt they’d figure it all out together. Now he was doubly disturbed by her gawking. She was probably freaked out and put off by his appearance.

“It’ll take a miracle to get you in this dress,” she sighed. “Has he even seen what you look like now?”

As Mia tied the waistband, Brian noted that the three distinct tiers that formed the petticoat train were held stiff by something sewn into the hem of each tier. He’d heard of hoop petticoats being made from whalebone at one time, but he thought hoop skirts had been abandoned ages ago. It seemed too personal a question to answer outright. Brian finally gave in. “Well, yeah…”

“You said you weren’t having sex. How could he have seen you and yet think you can fit into a dress like this?”

Again, not her business. “He’s seen me plenty. Apparently he’s crazy enough not to think I’m too fat.”

“You’re definitely not fat.” She pulled the drawstring too tight. “You look fantastic.” She sounded regretful. “You’ve just got a baby belly.”

He decided not to complain about the drawstring digging into him. “Do I got to wear a petticoat like this?”

For a moment, Mia let up and went to collect the dress from the wall hook. “Yes you do. Without it, you’d trip all over the dress because it would drag all over the floor.”

“What’s in it?” He drew up the uppermost tier to examine the contents in the hem through the nylon and crinoline.

“Steel,” she supplied. “Don’t worry, it’s light enough gauge to wear or they wouldn’t use it. Now this is gonna be tricky.” She began loosening the satin lacings on the rear of the bodice.

“No shit,” Brian muttered. He helped her tackle the job to get it done in double time. “Hey, can I even sit down wearing this shit?”

“Yes, just carefully.” Quickly, she removed the first dress from the chair so Brian could back into it. Then she hung up the dress on a hook and returned to the job, standing. “Very carefully,” she cautioned, though he’d already sat down.

The hoops were of a light gauge, as Mia had assured him, so it wasn’t as bad as Brian had imagined. Plus, it collapsed fairly effectively when needed.

As soon as the bodice was loose enough, he was ready to hasten into it so they could quickly determine what needed to be done and he could get the hell out of the stifling confines of the room. Ordinarily he’d never been claustrophobic, but being pregnant seemed to bring out all kinds of strange, uncharacteristic tendencies in him. Before he could yank it over his head, Mia arrested him.

“It’s strapless,” she said. “You’ll have to take your bra off.”

“My bra?” Brian was horrified. “What for?”

“It won't fit the same with a bra,” Mia said patiently. “It’s going to be a difficult enough fit as it is in your state.”

With the way she’d been gawping at him already, the last thing he wanted was to get half naked in front of her. “I’m not taking my bra off. Will it really make that much of a difference?”

“You may have to get a strapless bra to wear underneath, who knows?”

“I won't need to get another bra. I got some bras already. Dom and I went shopping yesterday downtown and bought all kinds…” Once again he wondered why he was giving her so much intimate information. He heaved, realizing she had a point. When she didn’t move, he stood up again, unable to contain an impatient remark. “You gonna stand there and watch?”

“Oh!” she jumped. Clearing her throat apologetically, she turned toward the mirrorless side of the small room, her back to him. “I’m sorry. O-of course not.”

By the time he’d managed to remove his bra that he was very grateful to have purchased the day before and squirmed into the dress, it seemed like half an hour had passed and he was overheated and testy. But it had fallen into place easy enough at the last as he dropped the voluminous skirt down his hips and the bodice over his chest. When he looked down himself, he was decent and the dress seemed as though it could fit. “Wanna lace me up?” Brian turned to the mirror for a real look. Just then he had to tuck an arm against the front of the dress to keep it from falling too far at that point; he hadn’t much bust to hold it and apparently they’d released it more than necessary.

“Oh my god,” Mia mumbled in awe from behind Brian, her gaze on his reflection, as well. “You…you’re absolutely amazing…Look at you…”

“You think it fits okay?”

“I-I don’t know yet.” She began tightening his laces in earnest. “You look so good, it almost doesn’t even matter how well it fits.”

Perplexed, Brian frowned at her reflection. He had no idea what that statement was supposed to mean, so couldn’t tell if it was helpful. As she worked, however, the baby began to fuss. Brian soon noticed he was having trouble taking a deep breath. “Not so tight,” he complained.

She eased off at his waist and took the slack up higher around his ribs and chest. That didn’t help his breathing, but the baby relaxed. “Oh my god, oh my god,” she squealed. “You’re so beautiful! You should see yourself!”

The dress was what warranted all the praise, Brian could see as he looked over it in the mirror. It was like crazy beautiful, now that it was in its full resplendence. The three-tiered, thick petticoat with its metal hoops fully filled out the ball gown skirt--a skirt that was made of even more layers of iridescent sparkling tulle. Then the top layer of that was lace stitched with clear iridescent sequins, beads, and round Swarovski crystals. The strapless bodice of the dress was trimmed all over with larger, tear- and various-shaped Swarovski jewels. Trailing patterns of vines formed with more jewels, beads, and sequins spread out onto the skirt. Brian had already learned from their wedding gown hunt the day before that Toretto really liked the strapless style; evidently he just didn’t want his sister wearing it.

As Mia continued to lace, Brian saw more and more that Dom was really gonna like this one; by cinching the top tight, she was creating cleavage, a feat that was a little surprising so early in pregnancy. Yeah, it was sexy, Brian knew. He’d thought so when he had a bust as a teenager. Only problem was it was compromising his ability to breathe as it crowded his ribs.

“I'm not so sure it fits,” he pointed out.

“Sure it does,” Mia insisted while she strained. “You look awesome. You really do.”

“But I’m having trouble breathing.”

“You are?” She ceased her struggle to survey the reflection of his chest. Seeming confident, she plucked at the fabric between his shoulder blades and down his spine. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Only if I hold my breath through the whole ceremony.”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a matter of adjusting the lacing,” she said casually. “Don’t forget: I’ve helped stuff a few brides into ridiculously tight wedding gowns…Not that any of them were eighteen weeks pregnant. But your case is a challenge I welcome.”

“You do?” Brian was further perplexed, but not willing to dwell on it. “Are you sure?” A profile look at himself revealed that Mia had managed to make him look slender again, in spite of his belly. That would have to make Dom happy.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think,” he admitted honestly, “Dom’s gonna like it.”

~~~

Saturday—September 23

In the hall of the hotel, after swinging their door open, Dom promptly swept his bride up in his arms and carried him into the room. Startled, Brian protested, but had no time to interfere. All he could do was hold on while he was borne across the threshold.

Once inside, Dom elbowed the door shut and crushed his bride close to further the kiss from the one begun on the beach as they were wed. Even as Dom let Brian down to stand, they continued the kiss. They were alone in the room with no one to interfere and they could relax. With Brian in his arms there was nothing else in the world, anyway.

Eventually Brian kicked off one shoe to reach Dom’s mouth better, but no, the shoes were too sexy. Dom drew back and looked down to their feet. He couldn’t even see O'Conner’s beneath the full, iridescent, lace and lightly jeweled skirt of the gown, but knew he was working on getting the other shoe off. Dom’s feet, clad in the patent leather, grosgrain wedding shoes were still mildly uncomfortable with a little sand, too. But he wanted Brian in his wedding shoes. They were too sexy to do without.

So Dom swiftly retrieved them, his tuxedo jacket already unfastened on the drive from the beach. “Come on, baby, let’s go to the bed so you don’t have to reach.” He slipped an arm around Brian’s waist to steer him to the king-sized mattress.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Dom finished settling Brian back on the bed along with the sling-back, crystal clear pumps, decorated with swirls of rhinestones. “Put them back on,” Dom told Brian as he backed for the door. “I want you in them.”

At the door, Dom found a room service attendant with a lavishly decorated cart. On it was a spray of flowers, a wedding card, a bucket of champagne, and two gold leaf-rimmed champagne flutes.

“Congratulations on your wedding, sir,” the attendant said. “Compliments of the house.”

“Thanks.” In telling the front desk that they were getting married that day, Dom had failed to let them know his bride was expecting. He passed the attendant a tip, then brought the cart in.

Still on the bed, Brian had replaced the shoes, but was struggling to loosen the lacing up the back of the gown.

Dom parked the cart at the corner of the bed, then sat beside Brian to assist. “Here, let me. You must be uncomfortable.”

“It’s worse when I sit down.” Brian’s beautifully made-up eyes passed over the set-up on the cart. “You know, I'm not supposed to drink.”

“The doc said it was okay if you drank a little at a time, remember? He let you drink at your mom’s and you haven’t had any alcohol since then.”

“He could tell I was really stressed out.” Brian struggled to get off the bed, back on his high heels, presenting his back to Dom. “Right now it’s your baby who’s stressed. He’s been suffocating the last few hours.”

“But you’re so beautiful,” Dom breathed, slowly letting out the lacings. He hated preparing to remove the breathtaking vestment, even though they had plenty of other garments he couldn’t wait to try out. It represented the epitome of their love for each other and what it had culminated in. However, even more so would be the long-anticipated consummation of that love again for each other that they hadn’t shared in months. “I love this dress on you. Are you sorry you wore it?”

“…No. The way you’ve been looking at me all day makes it worth it. I didn’t even mind when I about fainted on the beach.”

Thoughts coursing back over the events of the day, Dom raised the corner of his mouth as he felt the dress finally give against the strain of the tightly fitted bodice. “You didn’t nearly faint; you did faint.”

“No I didn’t.”

“I'm afraid you did.”

“Don’t you think I’d remember if I fainted?”

“Actually, that’s exactly why you don’t remember; 'cos you fainted. How could you remember fainting when you were unconscious?”

“I-I…No one told me I fainted.”

“I'm telling you now. No one wanted to scare you. But don’t worry, baby, it was less than a minute.”

Apparently dismayed, Brian stopped arguing. He took a deep breath when he could.

Rising from the edge of the bed, Dom was able to remove his cutaway jacket. He looked up to see Brian working to lower the dress to get out of it. “W-wait, baby. Open up the champagne first. Don’t take the dress off yet.”

“But I wanna take it off.”

“But I want to see you in it a while longer.”

“Okay,” Brian sighed, “but it might fall down in front.” He stepped forward to the cart and went about retrieving the bottle from the ice bucket.

As Dom watched the bony shoulder blades jutting out over the ivory satin bodice in back and the slender, shapely, tanned bare arms, he was charmed. He looked all the way up the sculpted lean muscles to the dangling clear and blue crystal earrings beneath the curls and all he could think was how fortune had finally gifted him in such a spectacular way. They meant to breeze back to the hotel, trade their wedding ensembles for comfortable attire, and check out to leave California behind. Dom, however, found he was having a change of plans. Then he came up behind Brian while he wound the wire basket off the cork and slipped his arms around him, burying his nose in the golden curls. He could hold Brian like that forever, taking in his essence.

He thought of how during the ceremony when the officiant had asked what Brian chose to take as his title, he’d not even hesitated to say “Mrs. Toretto.” This was something Dom hadn’t even known or dared guess himself. Looking over Brian’s shoulder, Dom couldn’t help but get aroused at the sight of the rise and fall of his breasts, for the dress had fallen forward enough, as warned, to display more of them, with a slight show of white strapless bra that Dom hadn’t known of, either. To ward off any ill luck, he’d had Brian dress at the house in Echo Park while Dom had remained at the hotel with Jesse where they both donned their tuxedos.

With the sound of the customary explosive pop, Dom brought forth one of the glasses and held it for Brian to fill. Then the second one and then turned Brian to face him so they could drink from each other’s flutes. “Congratulations, Mrs. Toretto.”

Brian flashed his pretty smile and held his flute for Dom to drink from. “Congratulations to you, Mr. Toretto.”

It was no sip Brian took, Dom noted, but certainly didn’t fault him for it. In fact, when Dom lowered his glass from his lips, he watched Brian’s mouth until he did the same. They shared a deep, consuming kiss and it was so fulfilling, it breathed magic into Dom. As they parted very lightly, Dom couldn’t hold the words back. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Brian murmured as they melted into another kiss.

Between them, the thick netting of the full skirt rustled as the kiss deepened. So bad did Dom want to take Brian, he set his glass back on the cart so he could take his thin shoulders. When they parted for another breath, he looked over those perfect features that he’d missed so much, that had stunned him beyond recovery. “I never knew I could love anyone like this before,” Dom confessed. “I had no idea I could feel like this.”

“Me, neither,” Brian replied, looking over Dom, in turn.

Was he really thinking the same kinds of thoughts, Dom wondered. All he knew for certain was that he never wanted to be away from Brian again. To hell with leaving right away; they could stay a few hours more. The only schedule they need follow anymore was their own.

Their difference in height mildly inconvenienced kissing. At the beach, they’d all taken their shoes off in the sand. Thus, Brian’s height difference of a couple of inches or so was easily made up for as they kissed after their wedding vows by digging his feet down in the soft earth. Not so with the added height of the heels. Dom set Brian’s glass aside after he took another sip, then adroitly lifted his bride up and onto the bed. There he lay him back, tossing the thick skirts up to expose the Swarovski crystal and lace embellished garter on his sheer-stockinged thigh.

In one motion, Dom loosened his cravat and dove down to the garter to kiss and mouth that slender thigh gratefully. Those very legs he’d missed so much. There was much to be said for the sexiness of kissing through seamed, lace top thigh-high stockings. For which Dom was ever so grateful, knowing he’d have to make love to Brian for the first time in all those months without even having to take anything more from him than his rhinestone and lace-trimmed panties.

But it seemed it wasn’t going to be that easy.

When Dom moved back to unfasten his trousers and the buttons of his asymmetric vest, Brian promptly sat up, too.

“I've gotta get this off,” he near-growled. “This waistband is strangling your baby.” He scrambled to the edge of the bed in the billowing skirts and got back on his feet on the carpet. “I can't take it no more, he’s kicking the hell out of me. Can't you feel that?”

“N-no,” Dom had to admit. “I didn’t feel a thing.” He really didn’t want Brian out of the dress, but could understand his point. His own ensemble wasn’t anywhere that elaborate and uncomfortable, although it certainly wasn’t casual. The stiff shoes were probably the least tolerable, so he removed them while Brian lifted the skirt in front and struggled behind himself under it to undo something. “Let me help you, anyway. Surely you don’t gotta take the whole dress off, do you?”

“Here.” Brian dropped the front of the skirt, and lifted it in back, instead. “Untie the petticoat and loosen up the lacings on the dress some more.”

While Dom sought out the petticoat ties amidst all the netting, Brian took to the champagne glass again. He was showing signs of stress all right. Perhaps he’d relax without the petticoat, though and wouldn’t have to take anything else off.

In locating the ties, Dom found them so tight, one pull knotted them. He knew right away he wouldn’t have the patience to unfasten that knot. He consulted his own champagne glass for a good swallow. In the meantime, Brian drew away and wrested with the lacings on the dress. In a moment, he had it loose enough to the point that he had to hold it up with an arm. “Why don’t I put on something for the honeymoon?” He picked up one of his pieces of luggage and threw it on the bed. “I don’t know about this…”

“What? What do you mean?” Dom looked up, perplexed as he slipped out of his vest next.

“I thought we were gonna try and get out of the country right away. I mean, we took a chance having the wedding in such a public place. What do you want me to put on? It doesn’t feel like you undid the petticoat at all. It still feels tight as hell.” This time Brian dropped the top of his dress, though it didn’t fall that far, reinforced with rigid stays and Swarovski crystals, and lifted the skirt in back again to fumble beneath it. “Get this damn thing off me.”

“I hate to tell you this, baby,” Dom said, “but it kind a got knotted up. Maybe I could get something to…”

“Cut the damn thing off, then. I don’t think your baby’s gonna stand one more minute being trussed up like a football.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I'm sure. I’m never gonna wear this thing again!”

“Yes you will.” Barefoot, Toretto was already on his way to his overnight case where he dug around for his knife. “For our Catholic wedding, remember? We’re gonna get married right, soon as we can. Maybe I can pick it loose.” 

“All right, all right. But it’ll have to be after this one is born when I can actually fuckin’ fit in this outfit. If I gotta get a new petticoat, I will. Just cut it off.”

Despite Brian’s cavalier attitude about the fate of the petticoat, Dom couldn’t bring himself to cut the tie. Vest tossed on the chair along with the cutaway jacket, he unbuttoned his shirt and left it untucked as he sat on the edge of the bed, working meticulously on the knot. Brian finished his champagne and refilled his glass impatiently.

“Man, just cut it,” Brian said after Dom had toiled for three minutes. “I'm telling you. I value our kid’s life a helluva lot more than I do that damn drawstring.”

Just then, the knot gave and Dom quickly drew it out. The petticoat gave and fell in a pool at Brian’s feet. That time he took a much deeper breath. Then he quickly struggled to get the waist of the dress to join it.

“Wait, wait,” Dom repeated. He hastily closed the knife and caught Brian to arrest his progress with the dress. “I want you, baby.” Standing, he pulled the dress back up over his bride’s bosom and turned him so they were facing again. “I want you like this. When I saw this dress, it was all I could think of; how much I had to have you in the dress. Tell you what.” He reached behind Brian within the loosened back of the bodice. “Just lemme get the bra off. That’ll be really sexy.” He smiled at the thought.

“I wish you would get it off me. Thing’s been buggin’ me since about twenty minutes after I put it on. Small as it is, you wouldn’t believe how much it hurts.”

That was discomfiting to hear. That and the thought that the baby had been suffering, too. Willingly, Dom stepped behind Brian again to watch what he was doing for the most rapid release of the hooks as possible. Once he’d tossed it to the chair, as well, he was back in front of Brian, kissing him and gathering him up again to lay back on the bed. Now that the dress was loose and the bra and petticoat were gone, he had to be comfortable enough to melt in Dom’s arms.

Which Brian did. Until Dom’s hand traversed all the way back up beneath the multitudinous layers of skirts and reached the front of the panties.

“Man,” Brian managed, “I don't know…” He laid a hand on Dom’s.

“Baby…We’ve been through this…I get it…” He slid closer to Brian. “But we’re going to get past this.”

“It’s not like I don’t want you, I swear I do. I’ve wanted you so bad for so long.” Brian turned to Dom on the mattress to look meaningfully into his eyes. And those lovely eyes were so sincere. Then he caught Dom by the front of his shirt and single-handedly worked the buttons open. He slid that hand inside, over Dom’s belly and chest. “Oh, hell…” He pressed Dom back on the bed and lowered his head to where his hand had been caressing to mouth and kiss.

A little surprised, Dom lay back and enjoyed it. As they’d done as much before, this was no assurance that Brian was ready. He’d come close to playing the aggressor many times, yet backed off at the last. Even the different dynamic couldn’t coax him to follow through.

The stimulus was always more than Dom could take. Especially more so by the sight of Brian in his wedding ensemble on their wedding day. A day that was supposed to end with consummation. If they were only going to jack each other off again, Toretto was going to punch goddamn a hole in a wall. He wanted Brian, his lover, his fiancé—hell, now his wife!

When Brian toyed at the waistband of the trousers, Dom willingly helped him unfasten them. His aching erection did the rest, forcing its way between the zipper edges, barely contained in the black mesh jock he wore. He’d purchased it at the lingerie shop downtown specifically to go with the tuxedo.

It definitely got Brian’s attention anew. Suddenly he was down on Dom, mouthing and nipping right through the mesh. After some tempting foreplay, he growled excitedly and pulled down the waistband, freeing Dom.

And it was a wonderful form of heaven. This time, Dom found himself watching his captivating lover with the insanely resplendent makeup and glittering dangling earring as he made wanton oral love to Dom, tonguing and introducing it deep in his throat and squeezing his—

No! Dom pulled away before he veered too dangerously close to climax. After wresting off his trousers, he dropped them on the carpet. Then went after Brian like an animal, creeping across the bed. He pressed Brian up onto the length of the mattress on his back, shoved through the abundant skirts between his legs, and dove into place. There was no time for patience; he yanked the slender panel of the panties aside. Within, Brian’s long erection strained the ivory nylon as Dom fought to slide in beneath the taut sac.

“Dom!” Brian held his husband off, hands against his chest, but his skinny muscles were no match. “Wait!”

It had occurred to Toretto that if they didn’t consummate their marriage the day of their wedding they might never have sex again. The one moment they’d been leading up to that made the most sense would pass and from then on, their marriage would remain sexless. The act of sex would become less and less important and fall by the wayside as Brian’s rape overtook him psychologically so he’d never tolerate intercourse again. It seemed extreme, yet it didn’t escape Dom that it was possible. At least they’d created a child together prior to all of this so they wouldn’t also have to endure a barren marriage. And Toretto wondered if he’d regret the marriage in the years to come under these circumstances. For no matter what, there was no one else he could imagine he’d ever want to take for a wife or husband. Lack of sex was no reason not to marry someone he loved so desperately.

“Don’t rip ‘em,” Brian was panting. “Here, lemme.” He scrambled to lower his panties.

In euphoric relief, Dom promptly assisted, groping at the other hip. Brian dug his clear heels into the mattress in his haste and their struggle to wrangle the miniscule underthings off. His healthy hard-on popped up into the layers of net skirting, naturally lifting his plump testes up out of the way, displaying the wet, parted lips of his vulva. They shed the panties down his stockinged legs, leaving his rhinestone-studded heels on.

Within seconds, Dom was back in place, pushing and prodding until he sunk in. It seemed tighter than ever. Furthermore, the hot, throbbing confines were more exquisite than he could bear. All he caught was a glimpse of Brian’s concerted frown before Dom was thrust into an explosive climax.

For the moment, he collapsed atop Brian, heaving like a marathon runner. It was rapture at its most primal, exhilarated form after all the time that had passed. He could feel their hearts pounding between them as he fit his arms beneath Brian’s shoulder blades and crushed him in embrace. Even as he was forced out of that sweet pussy, Dom felt himself stir in arousal so quickly again already. “God, I love you, Mrs. Toretto,” he breathed in reverence. Catching curls in one hand, fingers bracing his wife’s skull from behind, Dom opened his mouth and enveloped Brian’s, passionate and consuming.

Even as they kissed, cradled in his arms, Dom became slowly aware of the hard knobs of jewels from the dress’s bodice and the hard bones of his wife’s thin frame digging into him. The only place he felt any padding was on the layers of net. Even the subtle, round rise of his belly was firm.

The baby!

In a mild panic, Dom got up on his knees, shirt hanging open, and looked over his wife’s sacred body that housed the result of their union. “The baby,” he said aloud, a hand hovering over Brian’s abdomen. The skirt had fallen over to cover and hid any sign of hard-on. “You okay? Did I hurt you or the baby?”

“Of course you did, man.” Brian was still frowning. “What’d you think?” However, he reached around Dom’s neck and pulled him down beside him again to one side.

“Baby, I’m sorry,” Dom admitted, confused. “You know I didn’t mean to.”

“There wasn’t a thing you did that you didn’t mean to,” Brian pointed out, nonetheless locking his arms around Dom’s neck tightly. “You said in no uncertain terms what you wanted.”

There was no arguing with that logic. Except for one thing. “But I didn’t mean to cause you any pain. You know I’d never want to do that.”

“You think that thick cock of yours doesn’t hurt? I’d forgotten how much. I thought I was all healed, but now I'm not so sure.”

Instantly twice as sorry, Dom kissed Brian apologetically. “Let me make it up to you. I swear, I will. I just couldn’t help myself. I've been missing you so bad for so damn long.” This seemed to meet with Brian’s approval by the way he kissed Dom back with sincerity, arms locking even tighter.

Careful to stay directly off Brian, Dom placed that hand upon his baby as they kissed. He wished he could feel some reassurance that his child was okay, but knew this wasn’t possible. Especially through the stiff, springy fabric. It was at least reassuring that Brian didn’t kick him off the bed after his husband’s behavior that must have seemed very selfish. In moments, Dom was easily stirred from his anxiety and back towards pleasure as they lovingly kissed. Just being held so close by his bride was arousing.

Dom’s right hand deliberately sought down through the bunched up skirts to locate Brian’s piece and gauge his true reaction. There wasn’t any way to mistake it then. If he was withdrawn and soft, Dom didn’t know how he’d forgive himself.

That didn’t turn out to be the case; Brian met Dom’s hand right away with almost no searching at all, despite the thick layers of netting. The slightest touch got an instant impulsive response. There was no telltale puddle, either, indicating he’d not climaxed. At least that wasn’t because of pain, despite Brian’s rebuke, judging by his state.

So it was entirely appropriate to give his bride the best damn sex Dom could muster. God, the kid deserved it. And looking as good as he did…

Kisses traversing down from Brian’s mouth, Dom trailed down to the bodice of the dress. There he deliberately folded it down to unveil his wife’s breasts. The moment the cool air hit them, the swollen nipples stood up. It took every fiber of Dom’s resolve not to pounce. When he helped himself to them gratefully, he was tender and gentle. Brian hadn’t been demure about this over the past week, though; he arched his back and hugged Dom’s head to him, quietly gasping in pleasure. This practice had been only mildly pleasurable for him before pregnancy.

They’d looked so tempting in his wedding dress, too, with a surprising bit of cleavage. Bare, they were supple and round and no less tempting, especially the way he presented them to Dom.

Eventually the titty foreplay made Brian crazy; he wrapped his stockinged leg over Dom's as he worked, thrusting his hard cock against his husband’s hip. This could bring Brian dangerously close to dry-humping. By then Dom had recovered and it was a lot sooner than expected after such a nut-shattering orgasm.

Still, he patiently made his way down over the front of the dress. There he let Brian further present himself. In the sheer white stockings, the long, tanned legs were awe-inspiring, framed in the mass of crystal and lace trimmed ivory skirts. The tall cock stood proudly, no longer hidden by anything, displaying its stunning beauty and the rest of his tantalizing attributes. Dom was moved. He got down on the bed and spread the gaping labia with his tongue. That evoked more gasps and moans of pleasure from Brian, precisely the reaction Dom wanted. As Brian’s ecstasy rose, he boosted his hips to further spread his lips and grant Dom all the access he desired.

However, entwined with the brimming delicious honey, Dom almost immediately tasted his own juices, which told him he’d ejaculated way too early. Sloppy indeed.

Before Brian’s panting became too desperate, Dom got up on an elbow and fed the towering erection into his mouth. This was always a tricky challenge if Brian took over. With his limited practice since they’d roomed together in LA, it was an act Dom had not had the chance to learn to perfect on a guy. He planned to get more training at it over time, now that they were wed. Right then, he wanted to enjoy a thorough oral exploration of his wife’s cock, taking in the lovely shape and delectable taste while toying with the idea of taking on as much as possible without choking.

It was clear he was on the right track by the way Brian’s panting and moaning increased to the point that he gripped at the bedspread. Furthermore, when Toretto couldn’t resist and inserted a finger into that slit again, he found it slick and throbbing. So much so he introduced a second finger tentatively, unwilling to inflict any pain after O'Conner’s remark. However, Brian abruptly struggled to get up. “Get up here,” he panted. “I’ll get the Vaseline.”

Not exactly what Dom had in mind and especially not in that dress. It could get messy, awkward, and possibly detrimental to the gown. To distract his wife, Dom pumped harder on that erection, guiding it deeper towards his throat. In fact, he’d now overindulged his desire; he was now throbbing to get back into the slippery canal where his fingers sought. 

For the time being, Mrs. Toretto’s concentration was focused on his hard-on. Tipping his head back, he gasped harder and gripped the base of his cock. Never mind choking; Dom released it from his mouth and mounted a second time. This time his entry was gradual and more calculated so not to cause pain.

O'Conner wasn’t convinced. “Huh?” He looked down at the change of events, grimacing. “Wha…?”

“Shh,” Toretto comforted him. He leaned over him in position, tucking his hips into his wife’s.

“Ow!” Brian cried, along with some other guttural sounds that could have gone either way, indicating pain or ecstasy. However, the way he wrapped his legs around his husband meant only one thing; he wanted to be made passionate, desperate love to.

~~~

It was a little before 6:00 pm when they collected the last of their luggage and made it downstairs to check out. Though they had to pay for another day, as check-out time had passed hours ago, their flight was too important to put off any longer. It was still light, the weather cloudy and cool as it had been all day. The sun no longer overhead like it had been on the beach, they dressed a little warmer. Dom wore a midnight blue sleeved shirt and black pants. After the ball gown-style wedding gown, he was disappointed to see Brian hasten into his maternity jeans and a frumpy, loose, plaid, flannel shirt. Thankfully, the wedding service had included lots of photos in the package in the form of a digital card.

Because it had really been Dom’s fault, he carried the very damp wedding gown shrouded in its plastic all the way out to the Chevelle. He wasn’t about to burden his wonderful wife with that task, being as he’d humored Dom so closely he couldn’t help but christen the thick skirt with ejaculate. Dom had been delighted about it as the truest testimony to his wife’s unequivocal pleasure, even though it could have meant ruining the dress. Conversely, Brian hadn’t been amused at all about it. So Toretto performed most of the clean-up. And he’d done that in a hurry while they’d showered, redressed, and finished packing toiletries and wedding clothes.

So not to linger around LA, Dom had called and arranged for Mia and Jesse to meet them at the Vons parking lot in Echo Park, skipping dinner until they’d crossed the border. While they waited, Brian ducked into the grocery store to buy some snacks and bottled water to chase off any possibility of morning sickness. Jesse arrived first in the newly-purchased 1992 dark silver Ramcharger SUV. It had taken some several days to find the right vehicle. It turned out to have some miles and am imperfect body; with their limited time frame, they didn’t have the luxury of choice. Anyway, the rough paint, body, and mileage chiseled down the price. What mattered was that with its powerful Magnum engine, it should turn out many more miles before requiring any repair.

As the truck neared, Dom saw that on the hood of the SUV, the missing ornament had been replaced, just as Jesse had promised. Back in the day, those heavy, chromed steel hood ornaments had made popular pendants for would-be Satanic cult members; they were cool and free when stolen from Dodge Ram trucks. As a consequence, it was very rare to find them on the models from the era before the car manufacturer switched to cheap plastic, which no one bothered to pilfer. Dom knew there were a few still boxed in the garage at the house; purchased from Dodge, they weren't cheap, but they’d sold pretty well. He’d told Brian not to worry when they’d purchased a truck that was missing its hood ornament; Jesse had been eager to rectify the situation.

 

He found a parking space in front of the Chevelle, only a couple of cars away. Mrs. Toretto hadn’t yet returned from the store when Jesse, back in a knit cap and casual clothes swaggered over to the driver’s window of the Chevelle and looked in as Dom lowered it.

“Where’s Brian?” Jesse wanted to know.

“Buying some snacks. So he doesn’t get car sick on the long trip.”

“Car sick?” Jesse was surprised. “He gets car sick? Is he one of those people who gets car sick unless he’s driving?”

“No,” Dom replied patiently. “He only gets car sick when he’s pregnant and he hasn’t eaten in a long time. Never got car sick a day when he wasn’t.”

“Maybe I should go help him,” Jesse offered, always eager to help O'Conner.

“I would have gone myself if I didn’t have to keep looking over my shoulder,” Dom muttered, annoyed, as he glanced around the parking lot. “First tell me if Mia on her way.”

Hesitating, Jesse did likewise and scanned the intersection he’d driven up. “Actually, I don’t know. She said not to wait for her.”

“Not wait for her?” Dom echoed, incredulous. He drew his latest cell phone from his breast pocket and dialed hers. “Go ahead and see if you can find my wife in the store,” he told Jesse, enjoying the opportunity to use the term.

Whatever Mia was doing, she wasn’t answering her phone. He had to redial her after his call went to her voice mail. By the time she answered, Dom saw Brian and Jesse heading towards the Chevelle from Vons, talking. Brian had washed off a lot of his makeup and dressed down like that, it was almost hard to imagine him in the wedding gown drying on the back seat. There was no denying, however, that he was still beautiful.

“What!” Mia demanded into the phone. Dance music reverberated in the background.

“What do you think?” Dom asked just as patiently as he’d spoken to Jesse.

“Oh, it’s you.” She sounded petulant. “I know, I know. I’m supposed to go meet you guys at Vons. I don’t feel like it right now.” She was also slurring. “Why don’t I meet you later?”

Dom's patience began to dwindle. She was drunk. “I don’t care where you are or what you’re doing,” he started out quietly, voice rising in volume and anger, “you grab your purse and get your butt in your car and get over here right now! You had your chance to get everything you were bringing packed, but if it’s not in there now, then kiss it good-bye!”

“Screw you!”

“Now, Mia! Don’t make us have to come look for you.” Dom snapped his phone shut as Jesse opened the passenger door for Brian to slide in.

“What’s going on with Mia?” Brian asked, taking the bag from Jesse.

The patience had returned in full force for him. “She’s on her way.” Dom leaned to his wife and kissed him.

~~~

It was a full hour later when the cerulean blue Integra appeared on the street. By then dusk and the parking lot lights were coming on. The little car drove up to an abrupt halt, headlights on, behind the Chevelle but the engine remained running. In the driver’s seat, Dom growled then reached over to the glovebox. He took out the map he’d marked for Mia, gave Brian another kiss, then popped open the door.

In the Integra, Mia waited. Unlike everyone else she was still wearing the outfit she’d worn at the wedding. Her hair had been taken down, except she’d swept it back in a high ponytail. She was wearing her sweater over it. The back seat was packed sloppily.

Bending down, Dom knocked on the passenger side window.

It lowered electrically and Mia glared out from behind the wheel. “I'm here, aren’t I?”

“What were you doing? You’ve been drinking. Why would you do that?”

“I can do any damn thing I want,” she said, her voice a little more sober. “You think I'm happy about any of this?”

“Aren’t you? If you’d just gotten married, I’d be happy.”

“Yeah, like hell. You’d be beating the shit out of my husband and you know it. Happy? I don’t think so.”

She was right, Dom knew. “That would depend on who he was,” Dom chuckled. He handed her the map. “This is for if we get separated. You get pulled over, you destroy it. So try not to get pulled over. I’d be worried about it if I didn’t know how good a driver you are. You got your walkie?”

From the passenger seat, she yanked over her purse and dug into it. “It’s in here.”

“All right. Like I told you and Jesse, I wasn’t really living anywhere in Baja. At least nowhere I’d take my sister or wife to stay if I could help it. So we’re hooking up at the hotel in Ensenada I told you and Jesse about for tonight. It’s one of the best hotels down there. I got us all rooms, entiende? I know we’re way past check in time, but it was the best I could do. If they give our rooms away it’ll be your fault.”

“My fault?” she echoed. “You knew it would take us hours to get there. What time was check-in time?”

“Three.”

“Three! How the hell did you expect to get there by three when the wedding was at one! It won’t be on me! Don’t you dare blame me for that!”

“Whatever. Let’s just hurry up and get going. If we have to sleep in ours cars tonight, we just do. I hope you’re comfortable enough for the drive in that dress.” Pretty as it was, it was too short, Dom felt, and definitely not warm enough for a fall night.

~~~

It was a long-ass drive.

Not until returning to the US did Dom regret having switched out the original bench seat he’d found in the Chevelle. It was in need of reupholstering, but he could have done that instead of buying new bucket seats. All he’d been thinking of was streamlining the vehicle for racing, not passengers. As it was, he’d forgotten to tighten the bolt on the new passenger seatbelt until Brian had discovered it loose.

It was really regrettable at that point with Brian forced to sit so far away in an unforgiving seat for over four long hours on the road. With his long limbs, he kept shifting position and sliding down in the seat. Worst of all, Toretto couldn’t slide an arm around and encourage his wife to lean against him for comfort.

Clouds hung out over the whole lower part of California, it seemed, bringing the temperature down. They discovered how cool it was when Dom had to make a stop at a gas station slightly north of San Diego and they both got out. If they were going to spend any time out in the weather, Dom would have opted to dig one of his jackets out of his luggage.

It was there that Jesse caught up with them in the Ramcharger to check on them, and for a gas stop, as well. He admitted he’d lost sight of Mia a while ago.

~~~

As feared, when they arrived, the hotel no longer had their rooms saved. They had two rooms available close to each other and that was the best they could do. No honeymoon suite would be open until Sunday after three, which was what Dom had booked.

The Ramcharger was right behind them, so Jesse entered the lobby with the Torettos when they checked in. Mia was still nowhere in sight, though she’d snappishly assured them over her cell that she was still en route. Brian had whisked off to the lobby restroom upon their arrival, so Dom and Jesse had to decide what to do at the front desk, much as Toretto wished he could have followed his wife.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Dom told Jesse, “I just don’t like the thought of a guy sleeping in the room with my sister, you know.

“I could sleep in the other bed with my back to her,” Jesse tried.

“How do I know you’re not gonna cop a look at her?”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, man. Or, you could share the room with her.”

“And have you share the room with Brian?” With the way Jesse worshipped Brian, that was probably even riskier, Dom realized. Especially because the hotel was at least trying to keep their promise in providing the Torettos with a single king in their room. “I don’t know about that.”

“Look. Dom. Much as I love Mia...I-I think of her as a sister, you know?”

“No. I don’t know.” Admittedly, Dom couldn’t think of a time Jesse had ever given Mia a lascivious once-over. But of course he wouldn’t in front of Dom. He narrowed his eyes at Jesse. “You didn’t come onto her while I was gone, did you?”

“What? No, man! I wouldn’t do that. Like I said, she’s like a sister to me. She’s your sister. I wouldn’t do that. And anyway…”

“It’s only for tonight. They said they’d have more rooms open up after Sunday when tourists go back to work. Maybe you and I should share the room. Mia and Brian could room together, I guess.”

“Wait,” Jesse said. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Dom turned back to the desk where the clerk had busied himself a distance away to let them talk.

“Because,” Jesse began.

From the lobby bathroom, Brian sauntered up, huddling in his flannel shirt, still looking tired and sleepy. “Got our key cards?”

“In a second, baby.” Dom slipped him close for a kiss, then motioned at the clerk.

“But,” Jesse said.

The clerk returned. “Did you decide?”

“We’ll take the two rooms you got. They’ve each got two queen beds?”

“Si—uh, yes, sir,” the clerk corrected himself, evidently thinking he was talking to strictly English-speaking Americanos.

To make things a little easier for the guy, Dom proceeded in Spanish. “Tomorrow we need two singles and the Honeymoon suite. We’ll take these two rooms for now.”

“Two rooms?” Brian spoke up in English sounding perturbed. “Wait a minute. Where’s Mia gonna sleep?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dom tried to reassure him. Then back to the clerk. “My wife is tired; can we hurry up and take care of the transaction so he can get to bed?” He presented several bills from his pocket to prove he had the cash.

“You don’t mind if Jesse and Mia share a room?” Brian questioned.

It was Jesse who answered. “You’re gonna be the one sharing the room with Mia.”

That was sufficient explanation, Dom felt, so he resumed the arrangements with the clerk who was already asking for a tarjeta de credito. Of course he wouldn’t use one. None of them could dare use a credit card under the circumstances and he’d been expecting to run into this problem. His discussion with the clerk was interrupted in a few moments by Brian. He no longer looked tired and sleepy, but somewhat crazed and frowning in the soft lighting of the lobby. 

“I’m not sharin’ a room with your sister,” he whispered urgently. “I thought we were gettin’ a suite together. We go to all the trouble of gettin’ married and you don’t even wanna sleep in the same room.”

“There are only two rooms available right now,” Dom gently explained. “We’re like a hundred hours past check-in time, so we got bumped. They’ll give us the rooms we requested tomorrow by three in the afternoon.”

“What’s that about?” Brian continued to look deranged. “I'm not spending the whole day rooming with Mia.”

His attitude was completely confusing. Back in the States Brian had always shown concern for Mia; suddenly he was acting like she had the Black Plague. It was Dom's turn to express confusion. “What? What do you mean?”

“I wanna be with you.” Stepping close, Brian slipped an arm around Dom’s waist, lovingly, and leaned on him.

That was impossible to turn down. Dom started to look to Rystrom, but he was ready to offer his same alternate suggestion to O'Conner. 

“You don’t wanna share a room with Mia,” Jesse offered, “you and I can bunk together.”

It seemed Brian considered that a half a moment, then said, “Why can't you and Mia share a room?”

Dom answered. “A few minutes ago you didn’t sound so convinced that they should share a room.”

“That wasn’t my personal feeling,” Brian said. “It doesn’t matter to me. I was just wondering if you were sure it was okay by you.”

“Yeah, well since you asked, I decided I don’t like the thought of a guy sleeping in the same room as my sister.”

“But it’s Jesse!” Brian seemed taken aback. “Man, he’s cool. What are you saying? You don’t trust him?”

It did seem like an insane paranoia seen from O'Conner’s point of view. “Here, let me just get the rooms settled first; then we’ll figure out the logistics.” With Brian by his side, Dom addressed the clerk again in Spanish. “Look, my wife is pregnant. Can we have the rooms right away so he can rest?”

“Or,” Brian bartered to Dom in Spanish, just loud enough to be overheard, “we can go to another hotel. Where they have three rooms available.”

Apparently, it was all enough to convince the clerk. He had a word with the night manager then ushered them to the rooms, even arranging to help carry their luggage.

Despite the fact it wasn’t the honeymoon suite, the rooms weren’t bad. They had a living space and enough amenities to get them through 'til morning, including coffee makers and refrigerators. However, the sight of the two beds in the room that Jesse and Mia would be sharing couldn’t help but disturb Dom. Much as he trusted Jesse. Anyway, Mia should have the last word on that, since she was the one that would be the most compromised. As far as putting her and O'Conner in the same room, Dom had no reservations about that whatsoever. That was how well he trusted Brian. She may have had a crush on him at one time, but that was a long time back and there was no doubt she was completely over it by then. After all, it was clear who Brian had chosen.

While they partially unpacked and prepared for bed, Dom dialed Mia’s cell to sketch out the sleeping arrangements to her. Watching Brian select some of their honeymoon lingerie for them to wear in the meantime was enjoyable.

It was apparent Mia was still on the freeway when she answered, judging by the road noise and minor drop-outs. “Mi-a,” Dom said, “can you hear me?”

“What is it now?” She intoned, sounding tired.

“Just wanna let you know…We’re at the hotel. Where are you?”

Her voice came back even more annoyed. “Just got through the goddamn border check.”

“Why are you so far behind?” Dom was puzzled.

“Just be glad I came at all,” she snapped. “I can take as goddamn long as I want.”

“It’s gonna take you another hour and some to get here. Everything’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Why?”

“Do you need me to come out and get you?”

“I’m about as fine…” she hit a drop-out.

“Do I need to come out?” he repeated, hoping not. He didn’t want to leave Brian for anything; nor did he want to drag him back out on the road at near midnight.

“No, I'll be there. Much as I don’t want to be.”

“What do you mean you don’t want to be? I thought you’d made up your mind to come.”

“Yeah, well I changed it again.”

“What?” He wasn’t sure he was hearing her right and had no patience to try and figure it out. “Listen, Mia. They only had two rooms.”

“What?”

“There were only two rooms left. We were late to check in, so we lost our reservations. They’ll have the rooms tomorrow. In the meantime, you’re gonna be sleeping in room 409.”

“Two rooms? Two rooms? You mean I don’t get my own room? If I’d goddamn well stayed home I’d have my own room. What the hell are we going to do then? Are you and I supposed to share? And Jesse and Brian are rooming together? Boy, that ought a give Jesse the thrill of his life.”

“What? No, you and Rystrom.”

She was silent a moment. Then dryly asked, “You want me to share a room with Jesse?”

Dom looked after his bride who had trailed off into the open bathroom. “Why not?”

“It’s just that that’s kind of weird, isn't it?”

“There are two queen beds in the room, so it’s not that weird. You’ll have your own bed.”

“You don’t care that I’ll be sharing a room with a guy?”

Single-handedly, Dom tiredly rubbed his eyes. “This is Jesse we’re talking about, not some strange guy.”

She suddenly became even more irate. “You know what? Fuck this whole thing. I knew it was a mistake. I’m gonna flip a u-ey here and go back and spend the night in San Diego. I’ll go back to LA in the morning if I feel like it. See you in seven years.”

“Wait!” Dom jumped off the foot of the bed where he’d perched, barefoot at that point. “What’s this about? Suddenly you don’t like Jesse?”

“I’d feel weird about it. When we’d go to Race Wars, we always took two trailers and I never slept in the same trailer with any of the guys. I always slept on the sofa bed in the same trailer with you and Letty. Even when any of them passed out in our trailer by accident, you’d throw them out. Now suddenly you’re thrusting me alone into the same room with Jesse to sleep with him. You think that isn't going to feel weird to me?”

“Not with him, obviously.”

“Well, you know what? I ought a sleep with him. What the hell? Why not? This is the first time you’ve ever approved of my sleeping in the same room with a guy.”

Dom was incredulous. “Would it bother you that much to share the room with him?”

“Bother me? What’s bothering me is…” Another drop-out interrupted her.

“Mia. Mia, I can’t hear you.”

From the open bathroom door, Brian called, “What’s going on? She’s coming, isn't she?”

“Yeah, she’s coming,” Dom interpreted. “But she’s pissed. Mia, can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you!” she snapped contentiously. “Convenient how you pretend you can’t hear me when I tell you what a prick you are. You don’t really care if it bothers me or not. You’ve decreed it, so that’s how it has to be. You just decided on your own all without asking me. I’ll bet you didn’t even ask Jesse.”

He half shrugged. “I did ask him. He was all right with it.”

“Yeah, well you know what? I’ll be there in a while, but don’t come check on me. Jesse and I will be busy screwing our brains out and we won't want to be disturbed.” She disconnected.

As Dom shut his phone, he mumbled, “You’d better not…”

The sink taps turned off. “What’d she say?” Brian asked after a moment, when he must have figured out Dom had hung up. “She doesn’t want to share a room with Jesse?”

Shirt open, he got up to rummage through his overnight for more honeymoon lingerie for himself. “She’s pissed, like I said. I don’t know what she expects. I told her there’re only two rooms and she acts like I colluded with the hotel management just to inconvenience her. She didn’t want to share a room with Jesse because she thought it was too weird or something. This is Jesse. He’ll be totally cool about it. I’ve got his word on it. He won’t perv out on her or anything. Can you imagine?”

“Jesse perv? No, I can’t. Most of all 'cos he knows you’d break his neck.”

“Look, if he hasn’t touched her in all the time I was gone while he stayed with her in Echo Park, why would he suddenly decide to perv now? I don’t get why she’s suddenly so paranoid about it.” To save room, he’d tossed out the boxes and packaging the lingerie had come in so had to search the depths of his overnight duffel. Along with his toilet kit, he found the soft, stretch knit thong jock with the open cut-out in front.

“That’s ridiculous,” Brian was chuckling in the bathroom. “Being as he prefers dudes, it’s no wonder he didn’t.”

Startled, Dom paused. Then went to the door to look in. Brian had just fit black lace sheer panties on under a baby doll gown of sheer accordion pleated fabric. The bodice matched the panties. All the fabrics were tantalizingly sheer. “Wait a minute. Where’d you hear that?”

Brian looked up suddenly and blinked. “Oh. I forgot you don’t know.”

“You mean you knew? How could you know? You hardly know him.”

“He told me.” Brian turned back to the sink to set his toothbrush and sundries aside.

“Why would he tell you when I didn’t even know? He’s only known you as long as I’ve known you. I’ve known him years, yet he never told me. What the fuck?” Dom came to the sink beside Brian to attack his toiletry bag. May as well get the necessities out of the way before he undressed. “What’d he tell you for?”

“Man, I don’t know. We were just talking. Sitting in the shop, talking. It just came out, I guess. What are you wearing? Here, I’ll help.” He reached around Dom’s waist to unfasten his pants to lower them.

“I want to surprise you. Go wait in the bedroom and let me get ready.”

Not until Brian had stopped for several drawn out kisses did he start for the door. “So Mia’s gonna be all right, then? She chilled about sleeping in the room with Jesse? Did you tell her to call you once she got here?”

“She refused,” Dom growled in annoyance. “She said she was gonna come fuck Jesse’s brains out, so I wasn’t to disturb them.”

Apparently unperturbed, Brian chuckled again on his way into the bedroom. “She’s gonna be sorely disappointed waiting for that to happen.”

“I don’t want it to happen.” Dom couldn’t help being agitated. That O'Conner was treating it so casually was just another annoyance. What did he know? He didn’t have a sister to worry about. And why the hell didn’t Toretto know about Rystrom being into guys? How had that happened? Was that strictly guys, or did he like herms, too? And O'Conner just breezed in and handled it all so nonchalantly. It would have been cool if it didn’t perturb Dom so much. It was kind of a relief having someone else he could trust so deeply to let handle these kinds of personal problems, problems Dom used to have to deal with on his own with the team and his sister. 

He wet his toothbrush down, then picked up the tube of toothpaste Brian used, since they shared the same brand. “I don’t want nothing like that to happen between them, so it better not. I thought he was just too polite to come onto her. Unlike Vince. Soon as her body changed, he started leering at her. He was like six years older than her, you know, and he was gawking at my little sister. I hated that shit. Now Jesse, he never looked at her like that. But I guess I know why now. All this time I thought he was just polite and chivalrous, you know?”

“I think he is polite and chivalrous,” Brian said from the bedroom. “You don’t see him leer after guys, do you? Frankly, I thought he was nearly asexual at first. I haven’t been around him that much, but he wasn’t known to have ever had a regular partner that the PD could find.”

Dom considered while he started on his teeth. Thinking about Brian’s occupation as a cop was still unnerving. “I've only ever seen him with chicks. Sherms, I guess. I never thought about it. And not many, at that.”

A pause. Then, “He did say he liked dick.”

Just envisioning Jesse admitting such a thing was so improbable, Dom almost choked on the toothpaste. After he’d rinsed his mouth, bent over the sink, he managed, “He never said that. You’re making that up.”

“Nope.”

In fact, it seemed ludicrous. Dom had to laugh. “Jesse? No way.”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Why would he say a thing like that to you?”

“Hurry up, man. I wanna see you in that jock. I got some sleep on the drive, so I'm not so tired anymore.”

~~~

Sunday—September 24

With her shoulder bag, Mia went straight to the front desk of the hotel. She’d pulled into a gas station/minimart in Irvine where she’d discovered it was colder outside than she realized when she opened her car door. Before getting out of the Integra, she pulled a bulky gray sweater and some long pants from one of her bags to change into in the Irvine restroom. At the front desk of the hotel she gave her agreed upon alias and was told where to find her room.

On spotting the Chevelle and Ramcharger in the parking lot, she found a good space close by and carried out the bags she deemed most vital not be left long in her car, unattended.

Up on the fourth floor, she found her room. Inside, she thought she could hear the TV on but it was fairly quiet. The clock in her dash had read it was only minutes after midnight.

The door opened and Jesse looked out, his hair only slightly damp. He was dressed in baggy sweats and long sleeves, but barefoot. “You made it.” He immediately took her heaviest bag.

“I don't know why,” she muttered. “I should have gone straight back to San Diego like I said I would. I'm such an idiot.” Having almost no experience with hotels or motels, she was surprised at how nice the accommodations appeared.

Ahead of her, Jesse led her into the main part of the room, past a tiny kitchen counter with a coffee maker and a bathroom. Then there were two expansive beds. Across from them atop a dresser, a TV was on, broadcasting in English, within easy viewing range of a small living area with a loveseat and chair. Silently mesmerized, Mia set her overnight and purse on the desk.

“Which bed do you want?” Jesse asked, ready to set her bag down. “I thought I’d wait 'til you got here before picking one.”

“I…I want whatever bed you want,” she said solidly. “After all, Dom put us together, so we may as well take advantage of the fact.”

“What fact?” Jesse let her bag slip to the floor between the two beds. “We can go get the rest of your luggage, or give me your key and I’ll go get it.”

“What other fact? He wants us to sleep together. So let’s do it. It would serve the creep right.”

“Wh-at?” Jesse’s mouth fell open. “What’re you talkin’ about, man?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. That’d be great if you could get a couple more pieces of my luggage from the back seat. I'm gonna go shower.” She held her keys out to him then moved her overnight to the bench at the foot of one of the beds. It wouldn’t matter which bed they took.

~~~

There was an impressive view through the balcony window of the lit marina through the sheers, they’d discovered. Not about to give up any chance to admire his husband’s body, Brian wanted the lamp on, so they left only a slight gap in the drapes when they got into bed. Still feeling uncertain, Brian slid up against his husband and took his hand so their rings clicked. Neither of them otherwise wore rings, so their matching diamond-studded bands looked strange on their fully tanned hands. Then he kissed Dom and nestled against him. It wasn’t something Brian had really envisioned for himself. Not much anyway. So he’d not really thought of who or what sex type he’d marry, if he ever did.

“I'm glad we did this,” he told Dom. “I mean, I'm not sure we would have in any hurry if we weren't expecting a baby. But I'm glad we did.”

“I didn’t think we would. Even with the way I felt about you.” Dom brushed the curls from Brian’s face. “I'm real glad we did, too, and we did it now. But you’re right; I don’t think we would’ve in any hurry, either, if it wasn’t for the baby we made. This was meant to be.”

Brian knew that wasn’t quite right. That it had been his own stupid negligence. Yeah, he was busy, but he should have stopped the sex unless he was willing to get on some kind of contraception. The IUD he’d tried before had worked out well with no inconvenience other than in the installation and removal. Which was where he made his mistake; he shouldn’t have had it removed. Just because he wasn’t having any sex for a while was no reason. Had he really thought he never would again?

The relationship with Toretto came on so unexpectedly. After which Brian quickly discovered that he was incapable of turning Dom down and he knew it, and that’s what had really cocked things up. So maybe Dom was right and it was meant to be. It wasn’t actually about stupidity but about being so fucking in love with Dominic Toretto, something Brian wouldn’t have admitted to himself at the time.

Like right then. As they continued to kiss, Dom eventually pressed Brian back on the sheet and lowered the strap of his baby doll. The sensation of Dom nursing at his breasts was intoxicating. Except he’d bled from the intercourse they’d engaged in earlier, something he’d not told Dom. It had scared Brian initially, until he figured out what had understandably caused it. He’d cleaned up while he got ready for bed. It seemed that it had stopped some time ago during their drive. However, if Dom attempted it again, there would probably be a repeat episode of bleeding and pain. At least it didn’t hurt deep inside like it had when he’d pulled that PIT maneuver on the highway in Texas. Evidently he wasn’t as healed as he thought, though he should be. But now that he was pregnant, he couldn’t control that his heart was going to race in horror with any sign of vaginal bleeding.

So when Dom tried to make a further advance by tugging down Brian’s lace panties, he reversed places and pushed his husband back on the sheet. It was Brian’s turn to perform the rest of the consummation now. Looking over that body in the soft lamplight only further enticed him, as if the nursing hadn’t stirred him enough. The tight knit of the jock trapped and delineated Dom’s firm, taut balls beneath his glistening-tipped erection. Atop him, Brian bit sensuously at those chiseled pecs and abs, while working a hand over Dom’s genitals, stroking and rubbing. Then Brian tugged at the jock to remove it, though he still remained dressed, except for the falling straps of his baby dolls.

It didn’t take much coaxing for Dom to give the jock up. However, once again, he tried to get Brian to reciprocally remove his own underwear. He did, at last, but kept having to gently slap Dom back into the subservient position. He tried to pull Brian into place to straddle, but he resisted, pushing to get his knees between Dom's. Even though Brian made to apply his mouth, Dom abruptly checked the bedside clock and sat up.

“Wait, wait,” he told Brian. “I’d better call and see if Mia got here yet.”

“Fuck Mia,” Brian lamented. “Are you crazy? She’s a grown woman.” He crawled over Dom and pressed him back again. By lying upon him, he drove his erection into him with meaning.

“Baby, I know.” Dom tried to sound patient. “Just let me make sure she’s here and she’s okay.”

“Of course she is, man.” Brian started kissing the planes of Dom’s lovely face. His cheekbones and jaw, sliding to his mouth as he argued. “Forget about her. If anything was wrong, Jesse’d call.”

“He can’t call if he doesn’t know she broke down on the road. Just lemme call.” Trying to be good-natured about it, Dom caught Brian’s jaw in turn. “Honest, I love you, baby. But she was in a shitty mood. She might make a mistake or do something stupid, you know?”

There was no denying she was in a shitty mood, Brian knew, but he had no desire to give his husband up for a minute. He knew her mood was probably shitty enough for her to do something stupid, all right. She was mad about the wedding, about having to come at all, and now about having to share a room in a strange place when she’d apparently had her own room all her life.

Much as his cock wanted satisfying, Brian ground it into Dom’s upper thigh. It felt like he didn’t want to stop. If Brian’s nuts weren't throbbing hard enough, surely his pussy was. And he was getting wet down to his nuts. Just as he wrapped a leg around Dom’s to convince him to stay, it suddenly occurred to Brian he may be bleeding.

Oh, hell.

“All right, all right,” Brian said, backing off Dom on his knees. “I’ll get the phone and you can call her. She’ll be fine. And you’ll have a prayer if you think you’re getting anymore tonight.”

As he started to get off the bed, Dom caught him, laughing. “Wait a minute, baby. If that’s how it’s gonna be, then forget Mia. I'm sure you’re right and she’ll be fine—she’ll just fuck Jesse’s brains out, like she said.” He tried to draw Brian down onto the bed again.

Wet as he was, Brian held his ground. He slipped away, then fetched his own cell phone from the bedside table, his baby doll now held up by his erection that was only mildly daunted. He tossed the phone beside Dom on the bed. “Call her,” he mumbled on his way to the bathroom.

In case Dom followed, Brian shut the door this time. He went to the sink area to help himself to the complimentary box of facial tissues to wipe himself. But he heard the door latch turn and looked into the mirror to see Dom had opened it, holding the cell phone.

“You okay?” Dom asked. “You’re not that pissed are you?”

It was apparent Brian’s mood had shifted by his fallen erection, so there wasn’t any lying about that. He wasn’t so mad as he was worried. He felt no painful cramps, though the throbbing wasn’t exactly a comfort to him at that point. “Fuck, with the way you shot your wad like you’d just hit puberty earlier today, I should be.”

Chuckling deeply, Dom entered the room naked and came to Brian, where he slid his arms around his waist. “You do crazy things to me, Mrs. Toretto. I can't help myself. You turn me on so bad I do feel like a teenage kid again…I hadn’t been with you in all these months, and you were so incredibly beautiful in your gown…” He crushed his pubes against Brian’s now soft cock. “Come on, baby…Don’t be mad…Forget Mia.” He set the phone on the counter.

“I can't forget her now.” Brian reached for the cell himself, feeling a drip down the inside of his thigh. “I’ll call her myself.” He tried to push from Dom, but getting out of that bear-like embrace was nearly impossible. “Could you let me go for a minute?”

“I don’t ever want to let you go,” Dom murmured, drawing Brian closer. “That’s how much you mean to me.”

“Yeah, but…I'm all wet and I wanna make sure there’s no blood.”

“Blood?” Dom's eyes widened and he released Brian as though he were clutching that hand-blown glass Mia had mentioned. “What do you mean blood?” The erection he’d entered the room with faded right before them. “Why would there be blood? Don’t even think it.”

Once freed, Brian could reach the facial tissues again. It took only one wipe for them to see that the discharge was clear. As were the traces inside his legs and on his sac.

“Why would you think that?” Dom was asking, still stricken.

“'Cos.”

“'Cos what?”

It was better not to alarm Dom; he may be too terrified to perform his husbandly duties the rest of the pregnancy and that proposition was just as unthinkable. “Just being safe, is all. I’m not used to getting this wet. 'Cos I'm pregnant it’s like opening a faucet every time I get turned on.” Brian threw away the tissues, washed his hands, and picked up the phone. “Now gimme the number.”

When the phone switched over to voicemail, he was puzzled. Frowning, he looked to Dom. “She’s not answering. Maybe she stopped for gas.”

They traded gazes a half a moment, then Dom withdrew to use the house phone. Brian followed. Despite some worry, he couldn’t help but admire Dom’s small hips and robust chest, back, and arms. Damn, he looked good. Not for the first time that day Brian wondered how in hell he got so lucky as to wind up with a male specimen built like that.

In the quiet room, Brian could hear the phone ringing through the earpiece. It rang over and over before Dom replaced the receiver in the phone base. Again, he eyed Brian, studiously. “He’s not answering, either. What the fuck…? You think they’re…?”

“No,” Brian was quick to respond, not remotely convinced. “No way. She may not even have got here yet. Especially if she’s stopped at a gas station.”

“I don’t like the thought of my sister stopped at a gas station down here in Baja after midnight. It creeps me out...”

Perhaps it had been a bad idea to let Mia drive alone. Shit. Brian should have driven the Ramcharger, then Jesse could have driven the Integra down with Mia so she wouldn’t be alone. Or some other arrangement, so long as Mia wasn’t alone. “What? You wanna drive out and go look for her?”

“I don’t want to, but I may have to.”

“Before you do that,” Brian suggested, though he didn’t want either of them to leave the room, “let’s check with Jesse, first.”

Dom exhaled. “You’re right. No need to start panicking out all ready. We should probably give her another half hour or so. But she did say she was in Baja already when I called. And it’s got to have been over an hour, hasn’t it?”

“I don’ know. Maybe not.” Brian glanced toward the clock, but realized he hadn’t paid much attention as to when they’d got there or how much time had passed. Taking a seat on the bed next to Dom, Brian put a hand on his chest and started to usher him back. “Let’s just wait a few more minutes…” He leaned in close and kissed his ear. “I don’t wanna go anywhere,” he whispered. “I wanna stay here and go crazy on you.”

That seemed to charm Dom; he climbed back on the bed with Brian to the pillows and headboard to kiss and cuddle. Abruptly, Dom yanked them together to deepen their kissing. His hand slid down Brian’s hip to his ass, a seductive sensation. It was enough to prompt Brian to do the same to Dom and slide closer still, tucking a leg between his awesomely powerful thighs.

They slipped lower down on the mattress. Until Dom eventually raised his head just enough to check the clock. “I'm callin’ Jesse again…”

It was Brian’s turn to sigh. He lay back on the pillow. “Are you more worried about them fucking or her well-being? And more to the point, are you more obsessed about any of that than your own husband? You wanna go chase them both down, fine. I'm goin’ to sleep.” He got up just as quickly to climb to the edge of the bed.

“What? No, of course not, baby.” Dom followed. “I'm more obsessed with you than anything else in the world. Comere.” He drew Brian into another kiss. “You’re the one who matters to me. If I'm worried about anything else, it would only be about the possibility that Mia may have got into trouble at a gas station with some assholes, you know?”

That did it. Brian pulled away to fumble for the phone. Not only was Dom going to be distracted for worrying about his sister, Brian was destined to feel responsible for Mia for having dragged her out of her house back in Echo Park. She hadn’t wanted to come and he damn well knew it. Even though he had a legitimate reason for bringing her, he’d still feel deeply liable if anything happened to her, and even worse, because he could have prevented it even if he’d had to make the drive down south with her. When the front desk picked up he asked for room 409.

When Jesse answered the phone, Brian was at least partially relieved. “Yeah?”

“Say, what happened to Mia? Did she get here yet?”

“Brian. Yeah. She’s here. She’s gettin’ ready for bed.”

He looked to Dom. “Your sister’s here. She okay?” Brian asked Jesse.

“She’s pissed, but she’s all right physically. I mean,” his voice dropped to a whisper. “She came in sayin’ weird things, man. It’s freakin’ me out a little.”

Considering what Dom had said about her, it wasn’t hard to imagine. “Yeah, but she’s okay. She got here all right.”

“I brought her things up from her car and everything seemed—wait, she’s coming out of the bathroom. Maybe Dom wants to talk to her.”

In the background, Brian heard Mia. “Who’re you talking to? Is that Dom? I don’t wanna talk to him. He can go to hell for all I care.”

Though Brian didn’t turn the receiver over to his husband, he lowered it as he debated what to do. Perhaps they should leave it alone for the night and deal with it in the morning. He raised the receiver to his ear again. “Listen, Jesse. If she don’t wanna talk to Dom, that’s cool. As long as she’s okay, that’s all that matters. We’ll see you guys in the morning.”

“Oh, man…”

Brian couldn’t help but chuckle. “Come on, Jesse. I know you can handle it. See you in the mornin’.”

Abruptly, Dom snatched the phone into his possession. “Jesse?...Put her on…I don’t give a damn, just put her on…” He heaved. “…Don’t make me go over there! I'm not about to abandon Brian…” He ran a hand over his scalp, losing patience. “…I think O'Conner’s right and from what he told me, you can handle it…All right, we’ll talk to you in the morning.” He hung up. As he turned back to Brian, the tension ebbed from the powerful muscles in his arms and shoulders. Then he eased Brian back on the bed.

~~~

With trepidation, Jesse lowered the receiver, and slunk back to the loveseat in the living area of the room. Perhaps he’d sleep there; it was plenty comfy. The thin fabric of Mia’s knit nightgown made him nervous after the nutjob way she’d babbled. He hadn’t meant to look, but couldn’t help but see her tits sticking out beneath the soft material. Boy would Vince kill to be there. She usually kept more covered than that around Jesse.

“Aren't you tired?” Mia asked, padding to him in her terry slippers. “You don’t gotta watch TV from over there. Kick back on one of the beds.”

“Here’s cool.” The room wasn’t so big he had any trouble seeing the TV.

She came to the loveseat and sat down beside Jesse, their thighs touching. “I can watch from here if you’d like. Did you eat anything yet? I thought we were supposed to have dinner when we got here. I guess my brother was too damn horny to think of anything else. I don’t wonder why. So,” she exhaled. “Let’s order up something to eat. How do we order? They’re supposed to have twenty-four hour room service here.”

“Menu’s on the table there,” Jesse managed nervously and gestured, wishing she’d taken the chair. Her leaning against him was outside of his comfort zone. He loved her like a sister, but man, she was pretty and sexy, even if she was pure female.

“Really? I never stayed in a hotel before.” Fortunately, she did rise, but she stood in front of the TV light. 

Wow. Jesse could see her silhouette right through her gown. Man, she was fucking with his head on purpose and he knew why. She wanted to piss off her brother, but if Jesse touched her, Toretto would manually rip his nuts off without hesitation. “Order whatever you want, man,” Jesse shrugged, focusing on the TV screen. “I ain't eaten nothin’ yet.”

“Hmm,” she mused. Bringing the menu back to the sofa, she went the long way around to switch on the lamp beside them. Then she slid down against Jesse and leaned on him to read. “Fuck dinner, let’s order drinks. After the shitty day I’ve had, I could really use a few. I wonder if they make good margaritas. Don’t you think that’s a great idea?”

“Actually, I’m more hungry than thirsty. So I’m cool--don’t order me a drink.” He could just imagine what Dom would think if he found out they’d been partying with liquor that night.

“Or a carafe of wine,” she continued to read. “Perfect. We can share. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Jess? It’ll help you chill out.”

“I-I'm fine,” he lied.

“You don’t sound fine.” She sat up again. “I’ll order up and you’ll forget all about eating and we can drink all we like. I heard there’s no cut-off time for buying alcohol in Mexico. Now how do I order? What do I dial?”

“No cut-off time…?” That sounded dangerous. “Maybe we shouldn’t order any. I never had room service before, so I don’t know nothin’ about it, either. We can figure it out in the--”

Ignoring him, Mia got up to check the various printed sets of instructions around the room. Apparently having seen the one by the phone, she consulted that one first. As she did this, Jesse shot up and bolted to the chair. That had to be safer. She launched into both English and Spanish on the phone, while Jesse tried to get as comfortable as possible to sleep there. He’d put on his sneakers to go downstairs to the Integra and hadn’t removed them again yet. He pulled the ottoman into place to prop his feet on.

Off the phone, Mia was disappointed to find he’d moved. She left the bed area to come to him and took his hand. “Why are you all the way over here? Come sit on the sofa at least, if you don’t want to go to bed.”

“I'm cool.”

“It’s our first night in another country; when the wine gets here, we should party. We’re both stuck here; we may as well make the best of it.”

“I don’t feel like I'm ‘stuck’ here. I wanted to come with Dom and Brian. This is a great opportunity.”

“Yeah, well I feel stuck. And I hate it. Hate everything about it.” She kicked the sofa cushion then threw herself down on it to watch TV a while.

Now that he felt safe, Jesse found himself growing wearier by the minute. Pretty soon he was curled toward his side in the chair, nodding off, even in spite of the obnoxiously raucous commercials.

A knock on the door jarred him awake. He looked up in time to hear Mia at the door, opening it. Man, he could only hope she’d put on a robe before anyone else saw her in that flimsy gown.

In moments, she was back with a tall bottle of wine and two glasses. To her credit, she was wrapped in her familiar summer robe. The bottle had already been uncorked. Shit.

Setting the glasses down on the coffee table, she filled both, then backed to the sofa again. Before sitting, she shrugged out of the robe, then picked up her glass. “Come on. Have some. I’ve had a miserable day.”

Though he didn’t feel he needed it, Jesse slid forward and picked up the other glass. She’d offered, after all. He slid back and helped himself to the white wine. Pretty good. “You should at least be happy for Dom, man.”

“What for?” she snapped. Then took a long pull on her glass. “Damn prick,” she muttered before taking another drink.

Jesse dropped the issue. He already knew she was pissed. She’d hung back at the wedding, scowling behind a pair of large, dark shades, in silence. Though Jesse was the best man he’d been overwhelmed to help the beautiful bride out with the train of his generous skirt. 

Rather than argue, Jesse decided to fuck it and enjoy his wine until he fell asleep, which shouldn’t take long.

They watched TV in silence for a while. There hadn’t been much to choose from after the news. Half the programming was in English and the other half in Spanish and none of it was worth shit. Unless they ordered a movie or porn, but there was no way Jesse was about to order anything without express consent from either Dom or Brian, since they were the ones paying.

Apparently sick of the late night talk show, Mia used the remote control to change the channel to a Spanish one. Jesse didn’t care, even though he couldn’t understand a word. He threw back more of his wine.

“All I kept thinking,” Mia said tightly, “all I kept thinking…Was how unfair it all was.”

“What?” Her voice had stirred Jesse awake again. “I guess I am getting sleepy.” And the bed was so big and inviting. “I’ll take this one here and you can have the other.” He got up with his glass and shuffled to the bed. Hmm. Usually he slept in his underwear and a t-shirt. Not that night. He’d leave his clothes on. They were comfortable enough.

“You think I'm wrong, don’t you?”

“I don’t think anything,” Jesse mumbled. He set his glass on the bedside table and turned on the lamp there to pull down the covers.

“You gotta think something. Am I crazy? Am I wrong?”

“You’re whatever you wanna be, man,” Jesse allowed, still determined not to argue.

“Oh, screw you, Jesse!”

“What’re you getting mad at me about?” He got under the blankets, then switched off the lamp. “What could I do?”

She suddenly arrived at the bedside, startling him again. “Why don’t we pretend like we made out? It would piss Dom off so bad. Let’s tell him we got drunk and made out for hours.” She got on top of the blankets beside Jesse, pushing him over.

“What’re you? Crazy? I'm not tellin’ him nothin’ like that! He’ll kick my nuts to the ceiling, and nail ‘em there.” Jesse shot to the far side of the bed and yanked the covers up to his chin.

“No, he won’t. Not after what you’ve been through. He really likes you. Can’t you see that? He likes you enough to put you and me in the same room and he brought you along on this trip. Or he would have left you behind. To him, you’re family.”

Turned away, Jesse pointed out, “He put us together because he trusts I'd never try and take advantage of you or nothin’. So I'm not about to.”

“So we should. And teach him not to take us for granted.”

“Far as I'm concerned, I’d rather he take me for granted than not take me at all.”

“We can always tell him later we didn’t really do anything.”

“No way, man. I ain’t givin’ him no reason not to trust me.”

With that, he felt her get off the bed. He shut his eyes to go to sleep.

~~~

The next day, Mia disappeared. All Jesse could report was that she’d slept in late, then when he returned from breakfast downstairs, she was gone. She’d left a note saying she’d gone shopping. By the time the new rooms were ready for them to move into, she hadn’t returned.

For their trouble, Dom and Brian were given a honeymoon suite with one of the best views of the marina. It was spacious, with a separate living area, a dining table, a Jacuzzi for two in the bathroom and a massage table. However, it lacked the kitchen accommodations that the rooms for Jesse and Mia were outfitted with. All their rooms had a good-sized balcony for sun-bathing.

Though Jesse seemed pleased with his room, he tagged after Dom and Brian to raid their mini-bar. Despite the fact that his room was equipped with the same. Since Dom was occupied with tracking down Mia at the time, he didn’t really care that Jesse hung out with Brian while he partially unpacked in the bedroom by the king-sized bed and sink area in the bathroom. 

Dom paced in front of the sheers in the bedroom opening onto the balcony while he listened to Mia’s line purr for the fourth time now. He was only thankful her cell was still on the monthly plan. They wouldn’t be able to continue such luxuries when her monthly plan expired, as they would no longer be on the grid. His own minute plan was rapidly diminishing, as much as he’d had to use his cell.

At last Mia answered her phone. “What is it?” she demanded.

“Where have you been? We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour-and-a-half to give you your new room card. We packed and moved your luggage ourselves. You were going to come back to a room you couldn’t get into.”

“Oh. Well, good. I’ll go get my new key card right now. I’d like to change for the evening, anyway. I got some new stuff in the car. Should I go to the front desk?”

“No, I’ve got your new key card. You’ve got your own room now. You won’t have to share with anyone anymore. I'm beginning to think separate rooms isn't such a great idea, though. I'm thinking about getting us a suite. They have three room suites here.”

“A suite? Oh, hell no! I want my own room, thank you very much. Where are you? I’ll come get my key card.”

“Get ready for dinner. I’ve checked around and the staff here recommended a good restaurant where we’re going this evening.”

“You guys can go. I'm staying here. But I could use a few dollars for dinner here at the hotel.”

“What?” Dom was growing more confused by his sister’s bizarre behavior. He looked to the others in the room and found both had fallen silent to study him in wonder. “Why would you want to have dinner by yourself?”

“I'm not. I’ve been asked to dinner by another hotel patron and I agreed.”

He grew instantly suspicious. “Another hotel…? Who is this patron?”

“You needn’t concern yourself. You’ve got a wife now, though I never thought I’d see the day. Give me your room number and I’ll be right up.”

“Whoever this ‘patron’ is, you’d better bring him up here--”

She hung up.

~~~

It took Mia nearly half an hour to show up. By then, Jesse had gone to watch the TV in the living room helping himself to more bottles from their mini-bar. Dom was helping Brian hang up their wedding ensembles in the closet to keep them from getting further crushed while they were there. Baja California maps and newspapers lay on the bed, as they’d been trying to figure out their next move, since staying in a hotel meant throwing away too much money. And now Dom discovered that Mia was suddenly being far too irresponsible and cavalier. It was becoming all the more important to room in a place they could all share so he could keep a better watch on her. She wouldn’t even turn twenty-two for another couple of months and was still essentially only a kid.

When she did arrive, Dom almost didn’t hear the knock on the door for the TV in the living room. He cut through the hall beside the massage area to reach the entry way. The weather had been only moderately sunny that day. Seeing her in a miniskirt, showing too much leg only further annoyed him. That length of skirt Brian should be wearing instead of the long, knee-hiding skirts he owned, not Mia.

Furthermore, she was alone.

Drawing her into the room, Dom looked out into the hall in both directions where he saw no one. “Where’s this ‘patron’ you’re going to dinner with?”

“He went to his room to get ready, if it’s any of your business,” she replied. Again, she smelled of alcohol. She’d clearly been drinking already.

He shut the door. “It’s all of my business. You’re not going to dinner with this guy. I know nothing about him.”

“We’re in Mexico now,” she said contentiously. “I don’t have to listen to you anymore.”

“Yes, you do. I’ll say when you don’t have to listen to me anymore.”

Impatiently, she tossed her long tresses back. “Just let me have my card so I can go get ready for dinner.”

“This is a bad idea,” he rumbled quietly, returning to the bedroom to get it.

Brian was still hanging up clothes in the closet. Of note were several vibrant colored dresses Dom hadn’t seen much more of than as rumpled garments in Brian’s luggage. “Hey, these are nice. Why don’t you wear one of these to dinner tonight?”

“They’re kind of wrinkled,” Brian mumbled noncommittally as he hung them.

“They said there’s an iron and ironing board in all the rooms. I’ll iron it for you.”

“How’s Mia?”

“She’s acting like a stranger.” He paused by the closet. “Out of nowhere. I swear, if I’d known she was gonna act like this, I wouldn’t a brought her. Makes me wanna put her over my knee.”

“You wouldn’t.” Brian looked up, surprised, but amused.

“I'm tempted.”

“She is an adult, you know.”

“Barely. And she’s acting about twelve right now. A twelve-year-old who thinks she’s twenty-one, the way she smells like a bar well.”

“Cut her a little slack. She didn’t want to come. She’s rebelling. So she has dinner with someone. It was gonna happen sooner or later.”

“Hey, she’s having dinner with nobody I approve of. I don’t know who the hell this guy is. Just 'cos you don’t have a kid sister. Or you’d know exactly what I'm talking about.” He picked up the card from the dresser.

“It’s just dinner. She’s not eloping with him. Like we did.”

That didn’t help. “She’s coming to dinner with us,” Dom said adamantly. “If I have to go with her and watch her get ready, then drag her along with us.” He took another look inside the closet and drew out a red dress with a colorful tropical print. It had a roomy waist and skirt that would allow for the baby. “This one. You’ll be beautiful.”

“It’ll be too cold to go out in that,” Brian protested.

“Then we’ll stay here and have dinner. We won’t even have to go out in the weather. They’re supposed to have an award-winning restaurant downstairs. I’ll iron the dress for you, I promise.”

“You really wanna do that? That’s better, 'cos I'm still starvin’ from yesterday. The sooner we get down to the restaurant the better.”

In the living room, Dom pointed out to Jesse that he needed to go unpack and start getting ready for dinner. Rather than hand Mia her card, Dom steered her to the door. “You go do the same,” he told her. “We’re gonna be staying here a couple of days or so while we look for a place to stay that makes more sense.”

“I’ll figure it out on my own, thanks.” She tried to take the card.

“You coming with us?” Dom held the card out of her reach.

She turned on him. “I can go to dinner with whomever I choose. I’ve already accepted an invitation to go to dinner with someone else. I can’t very well tell him I'm sorry, but my big brother won't let me go. That would be absurd.”

“If you don’t tell him, I will.”

Clucking, she hiked her purse up on her shoulder. “What are you gonna do? Come with me while I shower and get dressed to make sure I come with you? Just let me go get ready. I’ll come to your goddamn dinner. What time are we leaving?”

~~~

In fact Brian was stunning in the ironed red tropical print dress. He had absolutely nothing to wear over it as a wrap, except his denim blazer, but he was warm enough, he said, so went without it. In awe, Dom looked over his wife, sparkling diamond and gold wedding band on his left ring finger, and was enchanted as they stood in front of Mia’s room with Jesse. Wearing the metal-buttoned, blue-gray, cotton-weave shirt he’d loaned Brian back in Barstow, which Dom teamed it up with a pair of black dress pants, he drew his wife close and kissed him while they waited for Mia to answer the door. Biting his tongue, Brian chuckled and kissed Dom back. Still no answer at the door.

Dom knocked again, more insistently.

Nothing.

He leaned into the door and listened. Silence.

If she’d gone ahead and left on her date, Dom wouldn’t hesitate to take her over his knee when he got his hands on her.

Impatiently, he shifted and knocked again.

Behind them, Jesse stirred restlessly, but said nothing.

At last, Brian said, “She must a left.”

There was no reason to make him starve longer because Mia was an inconsiderate little slut. Dom looked to Jesse. “Take Brian downstairs and get our table. I'm gonna go out to the parking lot and look for her car.”

“They might a taken his,” Brian pointed out too astutely.

“I'm gonna look, anyway. Take him, Jesse.”

“Gladly,” Jesse brightened. He reached for Brian’s arm. “Shall we?”

Brian chuckled again, smiled disarmingly, and took Jesse’s elbow. “Why thank you.”

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Dom told them, “then be right with you. If that little bitch took off with that asshole…”

~~~

Because Jesse understood it was a fancy reservations-required kind of restaurant, he’d worn his white, double-buttoned, Henley-styled long-sleeved pullover over a pair of black denim pants. He’d deliberately not worn one of his knit caps, and that had been a struggle. Now that he had Brian on his arm, he was glad he’d resisted the temptation. Damn, Brian was beautiful with just the right amount of makeup. And on his feet, he wore a simple pair of casual wedge sandals of natural-colored leather, and was thoroughly awesome.

As the waiter seated them at a table for four, he instantly assumed they were Mr. and Mrs., though Jesse wore no wedding ring. It gave him a hell of a thrill. The waiter offered them a menu from the bar, but Brian asked for the main menu. The waiter left them to decide, while Jesse perused the drinks and Brian perused the food. Then another staff member dropped off the tortilla chips.

“Can we get some water?” Jesse looked after the last waiter who was a little too far to hear.

“No,” Brian cautioned. “No drinking water down here in Mexico. It’s gotta be bottled or forget it.”

“What?” Jesse vaguely recalled having heard something along those lines, but thought it was an exaggeration. “We can't stop drinkin’ water while we’re down here.”

“From what I understand, we gotta get used to it. But you can ask Dom more questions about it when he gets here. I'm like starving and I don't know what to get. I want ceviche, but I'm a little afraid to. It might be a bad idea here. ‘Specially 'cos I'm expecting.”

“Mia and Dom make that some times. They said it’s like raw seafood salad. I never tasted it, though. Is it good?”

“It kicks ass. But it’s raw, so it’s probably a bad idea. Anyway, they’re bound to have something safe. Oh, I know. Fajitas. I’ll get an order of Fajitas and chile rellenos for me and Dom so we can share—Oh, man, they’ve got chilaquiles! I love chilaquiles.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s an appetizer. I’ll order that and you can try some.”

“Okay,” Jesse agreed, curious about why Brian was so well-versed in Mexican food and why he pronounced it so well. “I can get a drink, can’t I?”

“Booze is the only sure-fire safe thing you can eat here. Alcohol kills off any germs.”

“I like that idea,” Jesse considered. “But what about you, man? You can't even drink alcohol.”

“I know. Sucks. I don’t know what I'm gonna have, really. I've been wondering about that. I guess me and the baby’ll just have to get dehydrated.”

“No, man.” Jesse eyed him with worry. “You can't do that.”

“I don’t know what else to do.” Still, O'Conner didn’t seem too ruffled. Or rather, Mrs. Toretto.

Before Dom arrived, Jesse’s drink did. Just as the waiter set down the Tequila Sunrise, he asked again if Brian was sure he wouldn’t like a drink. “He’s pregnant,” Jesse supplied, enjoying the opportunity to announce that his “wife” was having a baby.

“Perdon,” the waiter said quickly. “Excu--”

“De nada,” Brian answered before the waiter could spit out his apologies in his broken English. Then Brian immediately rushed to order dinner, speaking more in Spanish than English. He even ordered for Dom and then Jesse, an act that Rystrom would have preferred to carry out since he’d been perceived to be the husband.

At that point, Brian broke down and ordered bottled water, while he attacked the chips and salsa again. “Damn, I'm thirsty,” he growled. “Where in hell is Dominic?” He looked around the restaurant.

“Man, I don’t know,” Jesse said, wishing Mia hadn’t caused all the trouble she had so far. He didn’t even want to mention her behavior the night before.

“You gonna go swimming while we’re here? They’ve got two awesome pools.”

“No way,” Jesse replied. Even if his bathing suit wasn’t so out of date, he wasn’t about to show off his gunshot wound scars in public.

“Why not? You swim, don’t you? Oh--” Apparently Brian suddenly remembered. “You’re not healed enough yet. I'm sorry—I forgot.”

“I’ll never be healed enough,” Jesse muttered despondently. “Those scars are forever.”

“They can't be that bad,” Brian said reassuringly.

“Oh, yes they can.”

“Nah-ah. Show me.”

Startled, Jesse looked up. “I'm not showin’ you.”

“Not here,” Brian laughed. “I mean after dinner. We’ll go up to your room and you can get naked.”

Because Brian’s gentle tease sounded so sincere, Jesse blushed. He couldn’t help it. If Brian were being malicious, Jesse would have been hurt. But he wasn’t.

Brian leaned in over the table. “Or rather, we can.”

Jesse’s mouth fell open.

“Lighten up.” Brian fed him a chip with salsa, which in itself was an intimate, though articulately friendly gesture. “You can show me. I’m sure it looks a lot better than you think.” He looked around again. “Where in hell’s Dom, man? I'm getting worried. You think he’s upstairs taking his belt to Mia’s ass?”

“I kind a hope so,” Jesse admitted.

“What?” Brian chuckled. “You do?”

“Only so she’ll chill out. Man,” Jesse proceeded quietly, “she came onto me real strong last night. Told me we ought a make out 'cos it would serve Dom right. She was acting absolutely insane, man. If Dom knew what she was doing last night, he wouldn’t hesitate to take a strap to her. I was hopin’ she’d be back to normal today, but she’s obviously not.”

“She really did that? What’d you say when she came onto you?”

“I wasn’t gonna humor her! She knows how bad Dom would kill me if I even looked at her. But she didn’t give a damn, she kept buggin’ me. She even tried to get me drunk. I finally went to sleep so she’d leave me the fuck alone. It wasn’t like I had to fake that, 'cos I was dead tired. Don’t tell Dom about it though, man.”

“I wasn’t about to.” Brian rubbed his chin looking appropriately stunned. “I better go look for them. If he’s up there giving her hell for accepting a date from some guy, the guests in the next room may call the cops.”

“No, man. You shouldn’t go runnin’ all over the hotel. You’re expecting. I’ll go. You just stay here and relax.”

“Relax? How can I relax if I know my husband’s upstairs beating on his sister? For god’s sake--”

Before either of them had to rise, Jesse saw Toretto approaching with Mia. She was dressed up in a gorgeous red velvet dress Jesse had never seen before, but looked ready to explode.

“Look who I found,” Dom announced, and tried to prompt her into the chair opposite Brian so he could sit by him.

Before she could resist too hard, the waiter returned with Brian’s water as requested, then immediately offered to take drink orders from the latest two party members. This forced Mia to quietly and cooperatively take the seat that Dom drew back for her. Then Dom ordered bourbon on the rocks for himself and a strawberry margarita for Mia. The waiter promised to return immediately with the appetizers.

When they couldn’t be overheard by the staff, Dom continued. “I found her in the other restaurant here at the hotel. She wasn’t alone, she was with some creep. I got rid of him and now here she is, ready to dine with us.”

She looked ready to spit nails. “I can have dinner with anyone I want,” she said tightly. “And you don’t know jack about him.”

Apparently finding the guy unworthy of discussion, Dom saw the abandoned menus and picked them up. He passed one to her. “You already ordered?” he asked Brian and Jesse.

“Yeah,” Brian replied. “I ordered us fajitas and chile rellenos. I thought we could share. I couldn’t decide what I wanted more.”

“Excellent choice,” Dom said, pleased.

“You have no right--” Mia began.

The waiter returned then with the appetizers along with another basket of chips with salsa. 

Dom intervened. “Give my sister a couple of minutes--”

“I don’t need a couple of minutes,” she cut him off, passing the menu to the waiter. “Gracias, pero no gracias. No tengo hambre.”

Her brother was growing impatient. “You ordered dinner with that guy you were with, didn’t you?”

“I had an appetite then,” she said dryly. “I’m sure I could recoup my appetite if I went back to have dinner with him, as planned.”

“Don’t eat then,” Dom said dismissively. He waved the waiter off.

“Uno momento, por favor,” Mia said, halting the waiter. “May I have my drink sent to my room instead?”

“Por supuesto,” the waiter said. “What is your room--?”

“She’ll have it right here,” Toretto said firmly.

Even before the waiter left again Brian had served himself some of the appetizer. It looked sort of like nachos, but covered with red chile sauce, sprinkled with green onions and grated cheese that wasn’t melted, and the tortilla chips were soft and limp, not crisp.

“Are these chilaquiles?” Dom questioned, eyes lighting up. He took some from the platter to eat. When he noticed Brian hungrily scarfing them without wonder, Dom became even more pleased. “I didn’t know you liked chilaquiles.”

“Love ‘em,” Brian said with the distraction of a man who was truly enjoying his meal.

“Mia should have made some for you,” Dom went on. “She knows how.”

“Why would I have?” she demanded. “As I recall, he never did anything that would warrant any favors.”

“How,” Dom asked, “do you come to even know chilaquiles? A white boy like you?”

As soon as he could, Brian answered. “My foster family. They were Hispanic. They made chilaquiles. They made lots of great authentic, homemade stuff.”

Jesse was so aghast he interrupted any other questioning, just as he saw Mia looked as startled as he. “Foster family? You were in foster care?”

Picking up his water glass, Brian nodded.

“What?” Mia said abruptly. “You never told me that, either!”

Suddenly Brian looked guilty. He stopped eating and didn’t answer.

It struck Jesse that perhaps it was something Brian didn’t want to share and they had no business asking. Feeling guilty himself, Jesse picked up his drink to busy himself. He was tempted to try the appetizer. He thought he remembered Mia making something that looked similar, but he hadn’t known what it was called. It was good, though.

Putting an arm around Brian, Dom quietly answered the question that hung heavy in the air. “His mom did some jail time when he was little. She got into a wreck and was busted on a DUI when Brian was in the car with her, so of course it was a big deal. He had to be awarded to foster care for a short while. But then she got out and was able to get custody of him again, so it turned out okay.”

“Wow,” Jesse commented. “I had no idea…And I thought my mom gave me a hard time when I was growing up.”

Dom took over that narration, as well. “Jesse’s mom and dad got a divorce when he was like ten or so. Then his mom took up with one of those kinds of dickwads who resent having to take care of someone else’s kid. Even though it’s not the kid’s fault, these guys take it out on them anyway. That’s why he wound up running away to go live with his dad. His mom didn’t care, either. At least your mom cares about you.” He lifted Brian’s hand and kissed his knuckles.

“Sometimes more than I’d like,” Brian mumbled.

Reaching for the platter, Jesse took a couple of chips. “I never felt like my mom cared anywhere as much about me as she did that prick. That was screwed. Man, these are good,” he added about the chilaquiles. “No wonder you like this sh--stuff.”

The waiter returned with Mia’s drink and the dinner plates.

~~~

After dinner, Dom insisted on bringing his sister up to their suite. She’d remained quiet and angry the rest of the dinner, saying little, ordering a couple more drinks instead of eating. A few times Brian noticed her looking at him with concern or appeal—he wasn’t sure which. He couldn’t very well ask her anything and wasn’t sure what it would accomplish if he could. It was just that her look was so intense and even though Dom wouldn’t approve, Brian cared about her. How could he ignore her? He’d always liked her and she was his sister-in-law now.

Upstairs, Brian began to feel differently about the situation, though. He wanted to be alone with his husband, so he became uncomfortable. He wanted to try out more of their honeymoon attire, and then slip into bed with Dom to make love for hours until they were exhausted. That was impossible with Mia there.

Turning on the TV, Dom had told her to stay put in the living room. He told her she could help herself to room service or the minibar as long as she didn’t overdo the liquor.

“I can do as much in my own room,” she pointed out.

“I don’t want you going to your own room,” Dom countered. “You’ll probably take off again. If not with that guy, you’ll go down to the bar or leave the hotel and find another.”

“You can’t hold me captive,” she argued. “That’s insane.” She cut her eyes at Brian, imploring again.

Ignoring her, Dom stepped into the bedroom. “Watch her, Brian,” he tossed over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go have a shower.”

And not try out the Jacuzzi like Brian had hoped? Brian jumped off the edge of the back of the chair he was perched on and lit after him. “Dom, wait.” He caught Dom unbuttoning his shirt on the way to the bathroom. Close, he told Dom, “I want to be alone with you, not baby-sitting. We’ll be doing that soon enough. This is our honeymoon. Let’s give her her key card and let her go back to her room. If you’re taking a shower, you’re not doing it without me. Furthermore—furthermore, I thought we were trying out that Jacuzzi tonight.”

Bemused, Dom smiled in delight. “I can't wait to try out that Jacuzzi.”

“Then let’s. Gimme her key card.”

“There’s no reason she can’t sleep on the sofa out there.” He took the card out of his pocket to pass to Brian. “Go with her so she can get a couple of bags, but bring her back here.”

“I'm not doing that! I happen to agree with her that you can't keep her prisoner.”

“I wouldn’t if she’d act reasonable. And in that dress she’s got on, you think she won't get broached by everyone with a pulse in the hotel? I never even seen that dress before. Where’d she get it? I don’t want her going out there unescorted.”

“So she gets broached? Give her some credit! She’s smart enough to use her own judgment.”

“She’s pissed off and loaded right now; she’s not gonna be using any judgment. Who knows what she’ll do? Anyway, you probably need some time to heal after yesterday. I really didn’t think you’d still be so tender.”

“Fuck that! I don’t care about healing. I want you, Dom,” Brian pleaded. “I've been away from you too long.”

Dom exhaled. “Then I’ll go with her to get her suitcases.” He rebuttoned the shirt to his pecs, a move that got Brian even more aroused looking down the front of his shirt. “You stay here and get the bath ready.”

With a quick glance back at the open double doors leading to the living room, Brian frowned. Then spoke quieter still. “You wanna make out while she’s in the next room? I don't know about that.”

“There’s a door in between.”

“I don’t think it’s a great idea. And anyway, you think she won't take off while we’re too busy to notice? Just give her her card and let her go back to her room to sleep it off.”

“What did I just say? She won't stay in her room. If it turns out she goes out and gets herself raped tonight, it’ll be your fault.”

“Mine?” Brian was suddenly taken aback and pissed at the accusation. “What the hell? Don’t you fucking dare say that shit to me! Don’t you--”

“Wait, wait,” Dom took Brian’s upper arms. “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean that. I'm just worried about Mia, you know. I don’t want anyone taking advantage of her. What happened to you was bad and we both know you can take care of yourself. But Mia…I hate to think what could happen to her.”

“The only thing worse that could have happened to me was if they killed me.” Brian pulled away from Toretto.

“Don’t say that, baby. Don’t ever say that, baby. I couldn’t live without you.”

That gave Brian pause. “No, I don’t have a younger brother or sister, so I don’t know how that feels. But I can understand you don’t want anything happening to her. I wanted to be alone with you, but fuck it. We don’t have to have sex. I don’t know if I even want to after what you accu--”

“Wait, I didn’t say that, either,” Dom was quick to react. “Maybe if we’re real quiet…”

“Doesn’t matter how quiet we are, she’ll know what we’re doing.”

“Yeah, but we just got married…What else would we be doing?”

“I don’t think she’ll appreciate it.” Brian glanced towards the living room again. “Just forget about it. You wanna babysit her, go to her room and stay with her. You won't have to worry about her going anywhere on her own.”

“Comere.” Dom went to the doors and swung one shut, as he drew Brian to the bed. “Listen, baby.” He pulled Brian down on his lap, voice dropping to a deep, sexy rumble. “I want you to know something. What I said was rude and fucked up. I didn’t mean it, I swear.” He brushed back the curls from Brian’s face. “I shouldn’t have said it. I love you, you know that. I do know how much it hurt you. I worry about you all the time now. Because even though I know you can take care of yourself, I still worry that things like that can happen to you. You’re so beautiful…I can see how people would want to take advantage of you…And I know what that feels like…It happened to me.” He lowered his long eyelashes, holding Brian close. “When I was in Lompoc,” he whispered, “they did it to me…That’s why I swore I’d die before I ever went back…”

In horror, Brian swallowed. He seized Dom in a crushing, protective embrace and hugged him, eyes filling. “Oh, baby…” he murmured by Dom’s ear. He couldn’t even ask why he’d not admitted it before, having been unable to admit it, either. He knew exactly how Dom felt. Then it made sense how and why Dom had never made Brian feel like he was tainted, much as he’d felt that way.

~~~

That admission changed Brian’s attitude completely. Suddenly he didn’t want Dom on his own in the hall of the strange hotel. It made a hell of an impact. He was ready to leave Dom to prepare the Jacuzzi and take Mia back to her room to pick up her suitcases. But Dom looked over Brian in his red sundress and changed his mind, too. He wasn’t sure about letting Brian and Mia go out on their own. So Brian buttoned Dom's shirt to his throat and kissed him several fortifying times before letting him go back out to the living room.

A few empty minibar bottles sat open on the coffee table while the TV played to a cool, empty room. The softly billowing drapes revealed why it was so cool; the sliding glass door was open. It took them only a second to figure out where Mia was. As Dom brought her back in, she began protesting.

“I’m not staying here overnight,” she spit. “No way! I've got my own room! Just freaking give me my key card, goddamn it!”

“Just stop, already,” Dom warned, trying to steer her toward the door. “We’ve already decided, so you may as well quit fighting.”

“‘We?’ Who’s ‘we’?” she demanded.

“My wife and I. We both agree it’s the safest thing for you.”

“You, Brian?” Her eyes weren't aghast but much softer than he expected. Her defiant stance relaxed as well as she awaited his answer.

“I think maybe you should stay here,” he allowed. “You’ve had a bit to drink and no dinner. I’d feel better if you stayed here, too.”

“But,” she went on, “what if I just went straight to my room? You could come with me, Brian. Honestly, I wouldn’t go anywhere if you came with me.”

Brian shifted, completely adverse to that suggestion. “You wouldn’t go anywhere if you stayed here, either.”

“Can we at least talk about it and figure out the best thing?” she tried.

He gestured for her to proceed with Dom. “Go get your stuff. You can use the room here to put your pajamas on. Then we can talk--”

“No, come with me.”

“Dom's going with you.” 

She glanced to him, looking a little constrained and desperate.

Looking at Dom, Brian nodded at them to proceed.

“But I want you to come with me,” Mia tried. “Please, Brian. I won't argue if you come with me.”

Taking her arm, Dom hauled her to the door. “Let’s just go. It won't take us two minutes.”

In their absence with the TV off, Brian retreated back to the bathroom. There he checked the Jacuzzi. It looked spotless. He rinsed it down anyway, then adjusted the water temperature and closed the drain. All the while, he couldn’t think of anything other than what his husband must have gone through. Because he said so little, Brian kept imagining all kinds of horrible prison scenarios under which rape took place. He knew they were real. It was the reason his mother had fought so hard to keep him home when he’d been sentenced to a juvenile detention center after his arrest. She’d told him that a million times, it seemed.

Taking the complimentary bubble bath from the generous sink counter, he poured in enough for lots of bubbles, then set about getting ready for Dom. That didn’t require a lot of work, other than shutting the bedroom doors, tossing his dress on the bed, and slipping into the cobalt blue peignoir Rome had bought him back in New Orleans. He just didn’t know what to do that would keep Mia appeased overnight. If anything, Dom deserved to be made love to that night, but this would greatly distract them from minding Mia who might feel neglected enough to take off even if for the prime purpose of spiting them. He couldn’t blame her. He knew she was bitter about his marriage to her brother. The best thing would be if she drank herself to the point of passing out and sleeping soundly the rest of the night on that plush, comfortable sofa in the living area.

While he was tying the belt of the peignoir above his belly he heard the hotel room door unlock and open, heralding their return. Still in his sandals, he padded out of the bedroom, already hearing their argument.

“You’re just throwing that money away,” Mia was saying, overnight case on her shoulder. “What’s the damn point of paying for a room for me if I don’t even get to use it?”

“I know,” Dom concurred, dumping the rest of her luggage on the carpet by the sofa. “We’ll figure something else out in the morning 'cos it is just throwing money away.”

On catching sight of Brian, Mia started subtly. Her eyes swept over him, eyelashes flicking in delighted surprise. He suddenly felt almost naked and that she was removing what was left of that with her eyes. Crap. He couldn’t repress a blush. “Um, if you need anything, just let us know. I gotta go check the tub.” He rushed back to the bathroom.

On the edge of the bathtub, he decided to let Dom deal with her for the time being. The tub was still filling, bubbles rising, and the water temperature was good and comfortably hot. He stood up and stepped out of his panties to go leave them in the laundry bag in his luggage. But Mia abruptly entered holding her overnight case again.

“Oh, Brian,” she said, pretending not to have expected to run into him. “I-I was about to change into my nightgown. You don’t mind if I do that…?” She eyed the tub and cleared her throat. “That’s a hell of a big bathtub.”

He quickly tucked his panties against himself behind the expansive sleeve of the peignoir. “You can change in the bedroom in a minute.”

Dom entered in search of his sister. “Come on, Mia. You can change and use the sink out here to brush your teeth. You already used the bathroom in your room.” He began tugging his buttons open.

“Do you mind?” She turned on Dom. “I’d like to put on my nightgown. It won't take me that long. And your damn tub isn’t even done filling.” She shoved Dom in the chest, attempting to make him back from the room.

He raised a hand in surrender and reached for Brian. “Come on, baby, let’s let her change.”

“No, wait,” she said. “I want to have a word with Brian.”

“Mi-a,” Dom’s voice intoned threat again.

“It’s okay,” she chimed, seemingly unaffected by her brother’s tone. “We’re family now, aren't--?”

“No, it’s not,” Dom objected. “What do you think you’re--?”

Brian slipped around her to get to the door and into Dom’s arms. “That’s cool. I’ll let you change. We can talk after we have a bath. Don’t let the water overfill.” He shut the door behind himself. After disposing of his underwear in his luggage, he returned to Dom and took him in a kiss. “Missed you, man.”

The anger instantly defused as Dom smiled. “I was only gone a few minutes.”

“Felt like hours,” Brian confessed and lovingly kissed Dom’s full, yielding lower lip. Running his hands over Dom’s shoulders and arms, Brian removed the shirt. Then backed to the bed to sit on the edge to do the same with the boots and socks with deliberate sensuality. Acting submissive to his husband actually felt exhilarating. If that wasn’t one piece of proof that Brian had made the right decision in his spouse, he had no idea what else could be. Reaching for Dom’s waistband, he was interrupted when Mia opened the bathroom door. And that was just as well. He quickly recovered his hands so she’d not see them doing something too toward, bad as Brian would have loved to proceed.

Then he saw Mia in a thin, clingy pale gown. Her hair, partially pinned up, was falling in demure loose, relaxing ringlets, which she’d apparently styled with a curling iron for her date that night. Not having washed up yet, she still wore eyeliner and flattering gold and cinnamon eyeshadow. Even though she and her brother looked nothing alike, Brian was once again reminded that he’d always been attracted to both of them. With the way the fabric draped, it described her swollen, rose bud nipples nearly perfectly.

As if undressing Dom hadn’t already given Brian a hard-on, he felt himself react in a double-take strong enough to make him swallow. That was okay; Dom would soon attend to that in the bathtub momentarily. But he felt a strong desire to take her up on the matter of a discussion right then, even though he knew he wouldn’t.

“I turned the water off,” she announced. “So it wouldn’t overflow.”

“You stay put,” Dom said. “I still have your key card, so you won’t be able to get back in your room if you’re thinking of taking off. Come on, baby.” He reached for Brian’s hand to help him to his feet. “Wait, your…”

“Does it look like I’m going anywhere?” she demanded sarcastically.

Brian complied, but felt the satiny slither of his peignoir slide aside to unveil him. In a panic, he fumbled instead to force his cock against himself, and the fabric closed over it. Christ, flashing Mia a boner was even more embarassing than being caught holding his panties, was all Brian could think. Here he’d just become part of the family and it seemed he kept stumbling into incrementally more mortifying situations with her every day. On his feet, he quickly hid behind Dom and he cooperated, aware of the situation, so she’d not get another look.

But she didn’t break into laughter, nor fluster in her own embarrassment for him; if anything, she seemed to be vying for a better look around Dom who helped to turn Brian away. That meant she’d not seen—only nearly so. Brian struggled to regain his breath as he all but bolted for the bathroom, still holding himself tucked against his belly and well covered.

In the bathroom Brian was able to breathe once the door was shut and locked. Dom clucked. “Practically gave my sister a floor show,” he chuckled. “And what a hell of a show that would have been.”

“Didn’t mean to,” Brian panted. “Taking your clothes off…Can I help it that you’re so damn sexy?”

“I like that I turn you on so much.” Dom unzipped his pants and let his own naked hard-on force its way out. “You did the same to me.” Barefoot, he bent to turn the jets on in the Jacuzzi, then dropped his pants to the floor. All he wore was one of his honeymoon jocks, which he also dropped to the floor. “Now get your robe off and get your pretty little ass in the tub.”

Jets running, this helped drown out the splash of water and any noise they made. If they spoke quietly, they needn’t even worry about Mia overhearing. Hopefully, she’d gone back to the living room to watch TV, anyway. A little bathing, and Brian couldn’t keep his hands off Dom and Dom didn’t seem to want him to. Their kissing escalated. All the while, wherever the jets hit was outrageously arousing. Then they both tried prompting each other into getting on their knees, hard-ons not to be ignored. Whirlpool baths were supposed to be relaxing, but the longer they stayed, the less relaxed Brian felt. Since his hair got partially wet, it needed to be shampooed. Making out wasn’t practical in a tub, as opposed to a shower, so Brian finally suggested it was time to wash his hair.

Jets off, water draining from the tub, they climbed out, hard-ons now throbbing, and switched to the shower. In there, Brian was drenching his hair down when Dom attacked him and pinned him against the marble wall. The idea was for him to give Brian a break from intercourse, but it didn’t seem to be going that way. Dom had only one goal in mind. It took some swift maneuvering, but Brian managed to get Dom pressed to the wall instead, facing, and moved to drive himself up into place. Water and a little soap helped make the passage slippery. Dom gasped and groaned, trying to slow Brian down, but not to much avail.

“Wait, O'Conner,” Dom managed.

“That’s Missus Toretto,” Brian corrected.

“Yeah, right, but--!” Dom inhaled sharply, “you—you’re too damn big for this. Use some lube!”

“Soap’s plenny slippery,” Brian persisted, feeling a lot of resistance, but too much excitement to comply.

“Not for you, man. You’ve got too much dick.”

The thought that he was hurting Dom and acting against his wishes stopped Brian. He’d heard the complaint before, but now that he knew what his husband had suffered, it gave Brian pause. He backed off, daunted. “S-sorry.” It took him a moment to remember what he’d set out to do and that was to wash his hair.

Suddenly Dom wrapped an arm around his neck from behind and mouthed his ear sensuously. “Didn’t mean I wanted you to stop.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you, man.” Brian focused on the bottle of shampoo so not to consider what he might have done. All it took was to think about his own far too recent experience to imagine what triggers he might have set off for his husband. Hell, it was setting off triggers for Brian, and he’d been essentially comatose when he’d been assaulted. Drawing away, he felt Dom’s hold relax and allow it.

“Wait,” Dom said, sounding confused this time. “You’ve made love to me before.”

“I didn’t know what had happened to you. I shouldna done it. That was fucked up. Let’s just forget about it.”

“Forget about it? I don’t want to forget about it. I don’t wanna forget about having sex with my wife. Hell no.” Dom embraced him from behind again. “Don’t worry, I don’t hurt from that anymore. It was years ago.”

“I know you don’t physically.” Once more Brian pulled away to step under the shower spray to rinse his lathered hair. “It’s the emotional part you never get over.”

“I don’t know about ‘never.’ It does take a long time, though. Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to stop.”

“You were never that into it in the first place,” Brian stated truthfully. “That’s okay; I understand.”

When he could open his eyes again, he saw Dom thoughtfully soaping his neck.

“Come on,” he growled. “Let’s get out of here so we can go to bed.”

“Are you gonna shave?”

“I don’t wanna waste time shaving. I wanna go to bed with you.”

Perhaps that was what they needed, though it would be with certain reservations, Brian knew. “You know, maybe…maybe you shouldn’t shave.”

“Huh?” Dom washed his face next, then rinsed down.

“Well, you know they’ll be looking for a guy who fits your general description…with no hair. Let your hair grow in and it’ll make you a lot less recognizable.” Sweeping his hair back, Brian soaped his own face in preparation to finish the shower. So much for having his arousal attended to. His erection had faded considerably and he could see plainly that Dom’s relaxing, as well.

Expression becoming even more thoughtful, Dom nodded. “You may have something there.”

Thoroughly scrubbed and wrapped in white complimentary terry cloth robes, they emerged from the bathroom, dripping wet. The bedroom doors stood wide open and they could hear the TV on loud in the living room tuned to a Spanish station. Dom gestured for Brian to get in bed then went to check on Mia, shutting the doors behind himself.

That suited Brian. He shook his bushy hair out rather than towel it, so it would dry in its natural curls and waves. Then he went to gather his things from the bed, but found his dress hung up. Knowing Dom hadn’t done it, Brian felt a slight stab of discomfort at the thought that Mia must have. That seemed intrusive.

Opening the dresser drawer he looked over his nightwear. Everything was too sexy, too suggestive. They’d bought attire for a honeymoon, not the sullen wake it was beginning to feel like. It was supposed to be a celebration, but instead it was turning into a psychological wasteland neither of them would ever be able to escape.

He didn’t even have a pair of pajamas. Miami and the southern States had been too hot for them. Even after the training he’d had in the police force for dealing with rape victims, he wasn’t at all sure how to handle it with his own husband. It was important to make him feel loved and wanted, just like Dom had done for him. Dwelling on the past was the worst possible thing. Technically, their lives should proceed as if it didn’t matter that it had happened. The only way would be to approach his husband inducing nothing but pleasure and no pain. Yeah, right. Maybe with a two-pound jar of lube…

Still, avoiding sex couldn’t be the answer; if anything, it could make matters worse by making Dom feel unwanted. And that impression couldn’t be further from the truth, anyway. But what he and Dom desired weren't the same things.

In case the bedroom doors should open at an inopportune moment, Brian took one of his white t-shirts and a pair of soft, elastic-waist sports pants into the bathroom. The pants might be comfortable enough for sleep. With the door shut down, he slipped into the loose-fitting clothes. Just as he was ready to return to the bedroom, Dom entered.

“Where are--?” he began, then promptly halted on the threshold, hand on the doorknob. “What the hell is that?”

“What’s what?” Brian feigned ignorance, drawing his curls out from under the collar.

“What the fuck are you wearing? This is our honeymoon, not a track meet.”

“I don’t think we should have any more honeymoon tonight. And I don’t have any pajamas.”

“Good, 'cos I don’t want you in pajamas. Or I would have bought you some. I want you in one of those sexy negligees we spent all that money on.”

“What about Mia? She’s only in the next room. Is she cool?”

“Uh, not exactly. She’s still pissed. But at least she’s drunk, so she’s chilled a little. We’re gonna have to leave the door unlocked for her to be able to use the bathroom, you know. I told her we would.”

That categorically canceled out any further sex. For a cause that neither could argue. “So any more messin’ around is definitely out of the question. You’d better put som'm on, too.”

“Fuck that. Put som'm sexy on.” Dom stood out of the way of the bathroom door. “We’ll just stop when she comes in, let her do her thing, then--”

“No,” Brian stressed on his way back to the bedroom where he saw the doors were solidly shut. He went to the other side of the bed and briefly considered his wet hair and the pillow. Fuck it. He drew back the bedcovers.

“Brian, come on.” Dom went to the dresser and opened the top drawer where he knew to look. “This is our honeymoon. This is no good. Put on one of these.” He took out some black leather straps, glittering with metal hardware. “Ooh. How ‘bout this?”

“No way!” Brian rushed over to hasten the BDSM wear back into the drawer with a glance to the doors. Then hissed quietly, “I don’t want Mia seein’ that stuff.”

Dom got back into the drawer and lifted out the neatly folded long, black, sparkling, sheer negligee. “How about this then? You’ll be gorgeous.”

“You can see right through that!”

“That’s the idea.”

“I don’t want her seein’ me in that, either. I may as well be naked.”

“Come on, you gotta give me somethin’. And not those baggy rags you got on. Here.” He passed Brian the shimmering negligee, then the matching thong panties. “Put that on. I’ll turn down the lights and get in bed.”

“She’s gonna walk in!” Brian insisted. He could tell by Dom’s obstinate expression that he wasn’t going to relent. “All right, all right. But I’m changing in the bathroom, and put my robe back on 'til I get in bed. I still say you should wear the silk kimono, at least. That way you’ll be covered if she comes in.”

“Just go change.” Dom hustled Brian toward the bathroom.

Once again, to insure some privacy, he shut the door before putting on the negligee. Then he bundled back in the terry cloth robe and carried his t-shirt and pants back into the room. The lights were off except for the lamp by the bed, and the TV on. Dom reclined comfortably propped on his pillow and the headboard, sheet barely covering his pubes. Brian tsked on his way to back to the dresser to put his clothes away. Deliberately, he took his time about folding his things; maybe Dom would fall asleep in the meantime.

Low probability for success. When he got to the bed, Dom yanked him down. “What’s taking you so long, baby? Now get that thing off.”

The robe was in fact, still damp and Brian could feel it turning the negligee likewise. The non-maternity panties, somewhat awkward and binding, didn’t feel to have enough pouch either. Almost with relief he shrugged off the robe and slid his legs beneath the blankets next to Dom. He felt delicious and warm. And seeing his approval as he looked down the front of the negligee suddenly made it worth the extra trouble. But just in case Mia should show up, Brian drew the sheet up to his shoulder while they ignored the TV and kissed. They didn’t have to do anything more until they fell asleep, he reasoned. It was okay if Mia were to catch them kissing and Dom would feel wanted and comforted.

~~~

A particularly earsplitting TV commercial shattered the steady drone of bad dialog. Mia roused to find she’d fallen asleep with a sofa cushion tucked under her head and her robe spread out over her. Using the RC, she lowered the volume, then fell back on the sofa, hoping for sleep to overcome her again. Damn Dom anyway. She should be in her own room at least, on a real bed. Ideally, she should have gone out for the night. Even if it was just downstairs to the bar again. That would be preferable.

It became apparent that she couldn’t go back to sleep. She had to pee.

Sitting up, she frowned at the double doors leading into the bedroom. No doubt her brother was in there fucking like a bull moose in rutting season with Brian. The thought was like a slipknot around her neck. It hurt her so bad, yet Dominic would never see it. He was too focused on himself to ever see it.

The longer she waited, the worse she had to go. Dom had told her they’d leave the door unlocked so she could use the bathroom. And why should she be so considerate of giving them any privacy? Hell, she should interrupt them and throw the doors open. This would totally destroy the moment for them and possibly the mood for the rest of the night.

This time she hit the mute button to listen for them making any untoward noises. Bed rocking, grunting, moaning, groaning, labored breathing.

Nothing. Nothing beneath the soft sound of the heating system and the TV in the next room.

Puzzled, she padded to the double doors and listened. Wait, she thought she heard her brother’s familiar deep breathing.

Carefully, she opened the door as silently as possible. The TV was on in the room, casting the only illumination. They both seemed still, although she couldn’t distinguish too much except that they were very close, their breathing deep and relaxed. Hell, they were asleep. Vision adapting to the low lighting as she made her way across the carpet, she was at last able to distinguish that O'Conner was partially atop Dom, head tucked under his chin and Dom’s arm draped protectively over his wife. They were mostly covered with sheet and blanket, but Mia could see a Brian’s back and shoulders were bare except for a t-strap that no doubt coursed down his spine. His prominent shoulder blades were showing. Her brother’s broad shoulders and chest were plainly naked, but he never wore much to bed. A pair of briefs, she hoped, at least.

Sadly, she thought of the words she’d meant to share with Brian. Her consternation about what she’d just learned of his past as a child coupled with the horror of what he’d so recently suffered. She wanted to stroke his curls in remorse for him. Poor baby. It was impossible to control a tear.

Unable to maintain composure, she placed a hand to her mouth and fled to the bathroom.

~~~

Monday—September 25

The next day Dom called down to the front desk again to ask for a two-room suite. It was a Monday, so they shouldn’t have that many guests. The hotel was happy to accommodate. Of course that meant repacking their things all over again and keeping a close watch on Mia to ensure she did likewise.

As expected, Mia was resentful. She maintained that she was perfectly able to manage on her own in the room she already had. Though Mrs. Toretto seemed to side with her, in the end, he stood behind whatever Dom deemed the best way to handle the situation.

So they switched to the suite a floor up from Jesse’s room, while Mia resisted and fought. It took until the afternoon, what with battling his sister while the hotel put them off until the room was ready. Then when they finally got their luggage transferred, they had to unpack and hang their clothes up again. They’d meant to go look at a couple of houses that day further south near the job Dom had left behind. But the hours ticked by. Leaving what of Mia’s luggage in her room that the hotel service hadn’t brought, Dom was finally able to return to the master bedroom of the suite to help Brian put their transferred belongings away. Instead, he found partially unpacked bags all around, and his wife lying on the big king size bed sleeping. He was reminded that Brian usually got tired around that time of day. Rather than disturb him, Dom set about quietly finishing the unpacking. It would be too late to do any house hunting after he woke.

As he refolded and rehung, he thought of the night before. He’d not meant to upset Brian, but clearly he had. All things considered, it was easy to see how. Being with Brian, however, didn’t remind Toretto of what happened in Lompoc. It was completely different. That was an event that he’d worked years at putting out of his mind. When it came down to it though, the pain Brian unintentionally inflicted was chillingly reminiscent. However, that was only momentary and quickly forgotten. Because they hadn’t engaged in that kind of sex that much, Dom hadn’t had that many opportunities to become accustomed to taking on this bigend partner. Who was quite a bit anatomically different than his previous one. And it apparently took a certain amount of adaptation to become full on enjoyable.

Several times he paused by the bed to look at his bride. God, he was beautiful. Never mind that he was wearing a simple cobalt blue t-shirt and his black maternity leggings. As Dom put away their honeymoon lingerie, he wanted all the more to wake Brian and coax him into changing. But he seemed skittish. Understandably skittish. There he was worrying about hurting Dom, declining to perform sex on him, and talking about never getting over rape. Scary thoughts. They hadn’t had any sex since. Brian had used Mia’s close proximity as an excuse, but she had her own room in the suite now. Would he give in?

The two-room suite had a full living room and dining space, unlike the honeymoon suite. Rather than go down to dinner, Dom further ensured Mia stayed present by ordering dinner up to the new suite, with Jesse in attendance. In protest, Mia opted to take her dinner in her room. As long as she was present was all that mattered. After dinner Dom offered that Jesse hang around in the suite and order up a movie with Mia for entertainment. Jesse, however, was doubtful she’d care to spend the evening that way. As far as Dom was concerned, he didn’t care what they did, as long as she didn’t do any partying outside of the suite. They were welcome to stay there and drink all they wanted, as long as they didn’t expect Dom and Brian to spend the evening with them.

Sure enough, Brian seemed a little apprehensive when Dom pressed him back to their bedroom at the close of dinner.

“Now, Mrs. Toretto,” Dom said, shutting the doors behind them. “It’s time we get ready for bed.”

“It’s kind of early,” Brian was quick to point out.

“That’s okay. We’re not going to sleep in any hurry.”

As dusk set in, they turned the lights low in the bedroom. After going through the drawers of honeymoon lingerie, Dom chose a black lace corset and garter set for his bride. The seams were patent leather and the corset closed in front with a single column of hooks and eyes down the center. The spine laced up, which was the only way to forgive Brian’s tummy for a short while, anyway, at least until he passed his fifth month. If anything, Dom would enjoy having the incentive to coax Brian into a perfect fit in the corset. They’d bought a cup size in anticipation of what he’d eventually be, judging by the size he said he’d attained as a teenager. The cups would be too loose for now, but in no way did that diminish Dom’s interest.

But Brian hesitated to give up his t-shirt and perched restlessly on the edge of the bed. “I don't know about this…”

“About what?” Dom knew what he meant but preferred to feign ignorance; if coerced, Brian may say it out loud and then he could take his fear manually and put it aside.

Elbows on his thighs, he rubbed his face. “I can't not think about it. I want you so bad, but I'm afraid to hurt you.”

It would be too far beyond credibility to pretend it wouldn’t hurt. And denying Brian the dominant role even more out of the question. He was male. Playing games like that could destroy their relationship. 

Dom backed to the bed next to him. “Listen, baby, we’ll just take it real easy. I’ll be fine. I’ll love it, in fact.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

There was no way Dom was going to let it go at that. The situation was serious enough that not talking about it would result in a worse fuck over. Brian was obviously too wound up about it and Dom would bust if they didn’t have sex for another twenty-four hours. Were they going to go back to having every other kind of sex but intercourse again? Even that would be sticky to restart. No, this wasn’t the kind of thing that was discussed in depth. But fuck, if Brian just said it, they could deal with it. Leaving this kind of strain on their newlywed relationship was too intense. “Then let’s not talk. Just put on the outfit. In fact, you stay out here and I’ll go change in the bathroom. I want to be surprised.”

“How’s that gonna help?”

“How could it not? Wearing sexy lingerie.”

“It’s gonna make me crazy.” Turning to Dom, Brian kissed him. “I want you. I want you already. We don’t have to put anything on for that.” He took Dom’s jaw to turn his head fully towards him and slid closer. “You don’t know how much I want you.”

“I've got a pretty good idea how much,” Dom chuckled, touching Brian’s cheekbone, in turn. “Put the corset on, baby,” he urged gently. “I can't wait to see you in it.”

“I don't know, man…I’ll get all excited and I’ll…Okay, I’ll do it.” Determined, Brian drew back. Then he rose and began nervously collecting all the pieces to his outfit.

While Brian disappeared into the bathroom, Dom began undressing to change. From the drawer, he’d taken out his own patent leather strap jock. Silver studs added to its decided BDSM appeal along with a codpiece of silver chains and matching buckle-like hardware. It was only mildly tricky to get it arranged and the hardware fastened.

In the minutes that passed while Dom waited for his bride, he reclined on the bed. Out in the living room, he could hear the TV on, entertaining Jesse and his sister. This inspired him to snap the TV in the bedroom on and surf through the channels.

At length, Brian emerged from the bathroom. “Can you do me up?” Dom was struck by how awesomely sexy Mrs. Toretto looked in the whole ensemble with a pair of black lace panties and black lace-topped stockings. The corset needed fitting to his tight, sweet body. In his stockinged feet, he presented his back to Dom to tie the corset closed while donning the fingerless black lace gloves.

Crawling to the edge of the bed, Dom got up to his knees behind Brian to oblige. Damn, he was more amazing than Dom could have pictured. Deliberately, he drew the satin laces tight for a sleek fit across Brian’s chest, rib cage, and belly.

“Now put on those sexy black patent leather spike heels I bought you,” Dom prodded as he cinched the black satin ribbon to tie.

“We’re gonna be on the bed,” Brian pointed out.

“Precisely. Then it won't matter how tall you’ll be in ‘em.”

“You just like the way they look,” Brian reasoned.

“You got that right.”

“I guess I can't argue with that.” He gasped suddenly. “Watch it; you’re crushing your baby.”

“Sorry,” Dom let the ribbons loose while he ran his lips under Brian’s curls, along the nape of his neck. “I just got carried away…” One hand slid around to Brian’s belly to hold his infant. “…And you’re just too beautiful…” Once Dom finally got his bride tied in comfortably, he slid his hands down in back this time to cup that little creamy smooth ass beneath the thin panel of lace. All he could think of was how lucky he was.

Whatever Brian’s reservations were earlier, in the heels he seemed empowered. Or it was something else. He pressed Dom back onto the bed and climbed all over him. Getting Brian to play receiver required a lot of work that evening, so Dom gave up for a while and gladly reaped the rewards of having his wife kiss and make oral love to him. It wasn’t long before Brian teased at Dom’s erection as it stood up between the chains by rubbing against it or taking it in his mouth long enough to make his husband crazy. At the same time, the straining pouch of the black lace panties demonstrated equal arousal.

Then Brian popped open the first few hooks and eyes of the corset in front and let Dom at him. First chance he got, he fingered the crotchless opening of the lace panties and felt his wife wet, slippery, and throbbing. Oh, he was ready.

With Brian already poised over Dom’s hard-on, it was just a matter of steering his little hips down in place to penetrate between his open thighs. It didn’t work that way, though. As soon as Dom took Brian’s hips, he shifted to plant a knee between his husband’s thighs instead.

“Wait,” Dom temporized. “What’re you doing? Just stay where you are.”

“Mm-mm.” It meant drawing his nipple from Dom’s mouth, but O'Conner seemed certain of what he did want. Using his teeth he pulled the glove from his right hand and then with his long, deft fingers, culled some honey from between his legs to apply to Dom’s ass for entry.

Particularly because Brian was so determined, there wasn’t anything Dom could do. Complaining or interfering would be the worst mistakes he could make. All he could do was brace himself and breathe deeply in an attempt to relax. And assist. That part was direly important, so to convince Brian that Dom wanted it as much as his wife. But as he watched Brian and took in the sight of his impressive piece, Dom considered an alternate action he could take. One he’d been practicing, too.

“Bring it up here, baby,” Dom offered. “I’ll get you good and ready.” He reached for Brian to come forward on the bed.

It worked. Dom coaxed Brian to replace his glove and kneel over him on the bed. It was precarious to be on the accommodating end of such a great piece of cock, but then Dom believed he could trust his wife not to choke him, even in the deepest throes of passion. Brian seemed none the wiser. He panted as Dom stroked his cock, becoming more and more swept up in the plan without realizing it. He’d catch at Dom’s jaw to steady him, but hardly had to do a thing other than lock his muscles. It was better that he held still anyway, as thrusting could be detrimental to Dom’s comfort and health.

Apparently O'Conner did recall what he was after eventually. “Okay, okay,” he panted and tried to back away. Delirious from arousal, Dom wouldn’t relent. He crushed that strong cock tighter in his fist as he worked his tongue and throat as he’d been practicing, thereby blocking any real damage to himself and providing further stimulus to his wife.

“Stop, wait, stop!” Brian cried. He even tried leaning back and raising a bony knee in self-defense. As Brian was in the dominant position, the threat of a deep thrust made Dom instantly let go. Then he tried to urge Brian forward a little more for further oral play. He was too wound up for that.

Instead he scrambled to get back in place between Dom’s thighs, now that he was good and lubed. Still apprehensive, Dom dutifully raised his knees, planted his feet on the mattress to manage the discomfort, and braced… 

~~~


End file.
